Besides being the primary owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats from 2002 to 2010, he also formed the asset management firm RLJ Companies. After selling BET to Viacom in 2001, Johnson made history by becoming the first African-American billionaire.
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Robert L. Johnson Early Life And Education
Robert L. Johnson, the ninth of ten children born to farmers Archie and Edna Johnson in Hickory, Mississippi, entered the world on April 8, 1946. He and his family relocated to Freeport, Illinois, when he was a young boy.
Young Johnson pursued a bachelor’s degree in social studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from which he emerged in 1968. Soon after, he decided to further his education, so he enrolled at Princeton University to get a master’s degree; he eventually did so in 1972 with a concentration in public affairs.
Robert L. Johnson Career Beginnings
Johnson entered the television industry as the director of public affairs for CPB after completing his studies at Princeton. In addition, he worked at the National Urban League in Washington, DC as the communications director.
As a result of this, Johnson was able to land a job as Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy’s press secretary. When he eventually went back to work in the TV industry, he was the vice president of government affairs for the National Cable and Television Association.
Robert L. Johnson Net Worth
Robert L. Johnson has amassed a net worth of $650 million as an American businessman, leader, and investor. Robert L. Johnson and his wife, Sheila Johnson, are widely recognized as the founders of the cable television network BET in 1980.
Robert L. Johnson Personal Life
With his wife Sheila Johnson, who he married in 1969 and later co-founded BET with, Johnson started the company. They married, had two children, and split up in 2002. Sheila Johnson later established Salamander Hospitality, a company whose holdings include hotels and country clubs.
She also got into the sports franchise-owning business, and now she has a piece of the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards, and the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Robert & Sheila Johnson Divorce Settlement
It was from 1969 until 2002 that Robert Johnson was married to Sheila. Robert gave Sheila $400 million when they got a divorce. That would be enough to rank as one of the top 10 priciest divorce settlements ever.
Other Business Ventures
Axiom Bank, located in Johnson’s hometown of Maitland, Florida, is only one of Johnson’s numerous successful business endeavors.
Furthermore, he has served on the boards of directors for a wide variety of companies and organizations, such as KB Home, Thinks Finance, Lowe’s Companies, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Hilton Hotels, and General Mills. In the meantime, Johnson returned to the television industry in 2014 by launching his own VOD streaming service called Urban Movie Channel.
It is run by AMC Networks and is dedicated to providing African-Americans with a diverse selection of original film and television programming. The channel changed its name to Allblk at the beginning of 2021. TheActiveNews.com is where you should go to get the most recent information.