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February 18, 2009
Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson was born in Hickory, Mississippi on April 8, 1946. He was the ninth of ten children born to Edna and Archie Johnson. He studied history at the University of Illinois, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree. He also earned a master's degree in International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
In 1979 he founded Black Entertainment Television (BET), which was the first cable television aimed at African Americans. It was launched in January 1980, broadcasting for two hours per week.
Presently, BET reaches more than 65 million US homes. It has become the first black-controlled company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
BET has expanded into other BET -related television channels that encompasses the BET Networks: BETJ, BET Hip Hop and BET Gospel.
In 1998 Johnson made the company private by buying back all of its publicly traded stock. In 1999 Viacom bought BET for $3 billion. Johnson's 63 percent share made him the richest black person (before being usurped by Oprah Winfrey) with assets of a billion dollars after taxes. He continued to be the company's chairman and CEO for six years before turning over the titles of President and Chief Operating Officer of BET to Debra L. Lee a former BET vice president.
Johnson started the RLJ Companies whose goal was to create a holding company and asset management firm run by a minority business person. The RLJ Companies has a diverse portfolio of companies touching on all area of their business industry, ie. real estate, financial service, hospitality, sports, film, automotive and gaming. RLJ has headquarters all across the USA.
Johnson also has many other ventures, he serves on the board of General Mills, he is the first Black American to be the principal owner of a North American major league sports franchise; The Charlotte Bobcats, NBA which began play in 2004.
In 2006 Johnson founded Our Stories Films, a Los Angeles based film company.
In 2007, so impressed with the Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sinleaf that he and several Black American leaders toured Liberia with the commitment of revitalizing the historic relationship between Black Americans and Liberia. This led to the creation of the $30 million Liberia Enterprise Development Fund. Johnson was inducted into the Junior Achievements US Business Hall of Fame in 2008.
On October of that same year the Cabinet of Barbados named him as their honorary Consul to North and South Carolina.
In January 2006 Johnson became the target of criticism for remarks he made about Barack Obama in his support of Hilary Clinton. He was criticized for being hypocritical for taunting Barack for his self confessed past marijuana use when the artists prominently featured on BET glorify the use and sale of drugs.
On the 17th of that month he sent a written apology to Obama. He, however, went on to say that Obama would not be the the Democratic Party's leading candidate if he were not black.
Johnson is divorced from Sheila Johnson who claimed much of his billions in a divorce settlement.