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Robert L. Johnson. Photo by Shealah Craighead.

Top 10 Incredible Facts about Entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson

Only three African-Americans appear on the 2017 Forbes list of billionaires: Oprah Winfrey, Robert Smith, and Michael Jordan. However, before any of them made the list, Robert L. Johnson, 75, became the first African-American billionaire in 2001 after selling his cable station Black Entertainment Television (BET), according to Forbes.

Johnson is now the owner and chairman of RLJ companies, an asset management firm he founded in 2004. He also serves on the boards of several well-known organizations, including Lowe’s and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Forbes billionaires list currently includes media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who debuted in 2003 and has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion, former basketball player Michael Jordan, who debuted in 2014 and is worth $1.7 billion, and investor Robert Smith, who debuted in 2015 and is worth $4.4 billion among other famous black entrepreneurs.

While Johnson is no longer a billionaire, he was the first African-American to join the exclusive billionaire’s club, according to Forbes.

1. He was the only child out of ten to attend college

In high school, he was an honours student.  Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies from the University of Illinois in 1968. Johnson joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity while attending the University of Illinois. In 1972, he earned a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.

2. Robert’s first business was a paper route

Before making paper, he sold newspapers!… Johnson told CNN Money in 2012 that his only entrepreneurial experience as a child was running a paper route. This gig, however, taught him many valuable lessons.

Despite his dislike of getting up early in the morning, the newspapers had to be delivered between 6 and 7 a.m., forcing him to get dressed and start working.

The job also taught him how to run his own business (he had to sell subscriptions), how to deal with rejection, and how to complete tasks.

3. Johnson is the founder of BET

Johnson founded BET, a prominent cable station aimed at African-Americans, in 1980. He began his career in cable television after working in pay television, where viewers pay a subscription to watch a specific channel. He learned the business and technological aspects of television there.

Johnson realized it was possible to use technology to target black programming, which had long been a dream of various black media types — creating a black-oriented network.

Johnson took out a $15,000 loan and set out to start his own business in the spring of 1980.

His big break came when cable magnate John Malone, then CEO of Telecommunications Inc., the country’s third-largest cable company, decided to invest in his company, despite the fact that he had no prior experience running a business, let alone a national media company.

4. BET was the first black-owned company on the NYSE

New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. Photo by Arnoldius.

According to CNN Money, BET was the first black-owned company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991. Much of the proceeds from the IPO were used to pay down debt and repurchase stock in Great American Broadcasting, another media conglomerate.

Six years later, Johnson and his business partner offered $300 million to buy back the remaining 35% of the company’s stock, bringing it back into private hands.

Soon after, Viacom expressed interest in the company, and they sold it.

5. He officially became a billionaire in 2001

Johnson became a billionaire in 2001 after selling the station to Viacom for $3 billion, bringing his net worth to an estimated $1.3 billion. BET reached 62.4 million homes at the time.

He served as president and CEO until 2005, when Debra L. Lee succeeded him as CEO.

6. Robert once owned the NBA Bobcats

With the purchase of the Charlotte Bobcats, Johnson became the NBA’s first black majority owner. In 2003, he signed a deal with the city to build a $265 million arena in time for the 2005-2006 season.

Due to a steady decline in the team’s value and an annual loss of tens of millions of dollars, he sold his majority stake to Michael Jordan in 2010 for $275 million. Jordan had previously been a minor shareholder.

7. He is involved in philanthropy

Johnson collaborated with Morgan Freeman in 2011 to raise funds for hurricane preparedness in the Bahamas. In 2012, Johnson collaborated with PVH and The Ella Rose Collection to create the RLJ Ella Rose Africa Tie Collection to benefit the charitable organization Malaria No More.

Johnson established the Liberia Enterprise Development Fund in 2007 with a $30 million investment. The fund lends money to Liberian entrepreneurs.

8. Johnson has been married twice

Johnson was previously married to Sheila Johnson, whom he met while both were working at BET.

Sheila Johnson is the CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts and the owner of Palm Harbor’s Salamander Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club.

In 2010, Johnson began dating Lauren Wooden, who is 33 years his junior.

Wooden was pursuing a doctorate in international business management in Paris in 2016.

Greg Mathis officiated their wedding in May 2016, and they divorced in 2020.

9. He is a Democrat

Regardless of his politics, Johnson has praised Trump’s economy, particularly the increase in African American employment, which is still lower than white employment rates.

And he has joined many conservatives, including Trump, in claiming that Democratic politicians have gone too far to the left.

10. He publicly criticized Senator Obama during election campaigns

Robert L. Johnson. Photo by The White House.

Johnson came under fire in January 2008 for comments he made to supporters of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton about another candidate, Senator (and eventual party nominee and election winner) Barack Obama. His comments were widely interpreted as a criticism of Obama’s admitted use of marijuana in his youth. The Clinton campaign denied this, claiming the remarks were about Obama’s work as a community organizer. Johnson apologized to Obama on January 17, 2008.