Founder, Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Robert L. Johnson is the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), the nation’s first and leading television network providing entertainment, music, news, sports and public affairs programming for African-American audiences.
Johnson made history as the first African-American majority owner of a major sports franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA. Under his leadership, BET became the first African American-owned company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2000, Johnson sold BET to Viacom for approximately $3 billion and later formed The RLJ Companies, a diversified holding company with interests in hospitality, financial services, media and entertainment.
