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What is Robert L. Johnson’s Net Worth?
Robert L. Johnson is an American businessman, govt and investor who has a net worth of $650 million. Robert L. Johnson is finest identified for co-founding the cable channel BET along with his spouse Sheila Johnson in 1980. He additionally based the asset administration agency RLJ Companies, and was majority proprietor of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats from 2002 to 2010. Johnson is notable for being the primary African-American billionaire, a standing he achieved in 2001 upon the sale of BET to Viacom.
He launched Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 1980. BET was the primary main TV community aimed in direction of African-Americans. In 1991 BET turned the primary black-controlled firm that was listed on the NYSE. BET was acquired by Viacom in 2000 for $3 billion. Johnson moved on from the corporate in 2006. He went on to discovered the RLJ Companies which is a holding firm with a really various portfolio.
In 2002 he bought the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, changing into the primary African-American majority proprietor of a significant American sports activities group. He sold his majority stake in 2010 to Michael Jordan.
Robert and Sheila Johnson Divorce Settlement
Robert and Sheila Johnson have been married from 1969-2002. When they divorced, Robert paid Sheila $400 million. That’s sufficient to be one among 10 most expensive divorce settlements of all time.
Early Life and Education
Robert L. Johnson was born on April 8, 1946 in Hickory, Mississippi because the ninth of ten kids of farmer Archie and schoolteacher Edna. When he was a child, he moved along with his family to Freeport, Illinois. As a younger grownup, Johnson went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, from which he graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s diploma in social research. He subsequently attended Princeton University as a graduate pupil, incomes a grasp’s diploma in public affairs in 1972.
Career Beginnings
Following his commencement from Princeton, Johnson entered the tv trade as the general public affairs director for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He additionally served because the director of communications for the Washington, DC workplace of the civil rights group National Urban League. Johnson went on to grow to be a press secretary to Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy. He later returned to the tv trade to grow to be the vp of presidency relations on the National Cable and Television Association.
BET
After stepping down from the NCTA in 1979, Johnson launched the cable tv channel BET in 1980. The first cable channel aimed solely at African-Americans, it initially aired for under two hours on Friday nights. Eventually, in 1983, BET turned its personal full-fledged unbiased channel. Two years after that, it turned a revenue for the primary time. When BET went public in 1991, it turned the primary black-controlled firm to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The channel expanded significantly over the following years, launching digital cable networks and, in a three way partnership with Starz, a multiplex service. In 2001, media conglomerate Viacom purchased BET for $3 billion, erasing its standing as a black-owned enterprise. However, from the sale, Johnson turned the primary African-American billionaire in historical past. He remained in his place as CEO of BET till 2006.
RLJ Companies
In 2002, a yr after changing into a billionaire, Johnson based the asset administration agency RLJ Companies in Bethesda, Maryland. The firm’s portfolio comprises a variety of belongings, comparable to lodge actual property, personal fairness, insurance coverage companies, automobile dealerships, and sports activities and leisure manufacturers. Beyond its Bethesda headquarters, RLJ Companies has extra workplaces in Little Rock, Arkansas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Los Angeles, California; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Monrovia, Liberia.
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NBA Team Ownership
Johnson ventured into skilled sports activities group possession in late 2002 when a bunch he led was awarded majority possession of the NBA’s newly named Charlotte Bobcats. In the method, he turned the primary majority African-American proprietor of any main skilled sports activities group within the US for the reason that Negro leagues. Notably, hip hop artist Nelly turned a co-owner. In 2010, following the Bobcats’ first-ever profitable season, Johnson offered his majority stake within the group to Michael Jordan.
Other Business Ventures
Among his many different enterprise ventures, Johnson based Axiom Bank in Maitland, Florida. He has additionally sat on quite a few boards of administrators, together with these of KB Home; Think Finance; Lowe’s Companies; the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture; Hilton Hotels; and General Mills. Meanwhile, again within the tv world, Johnson based his personal video-on-demand streaming service in 2014 known as Urban Movie Channel. Operated by AMC Networks, it was created to supply authentic movies and tv sequence geared toward African-American audiences. In early 2021, the channel was renamed Allblk.
Philanthropy
As a philanthropist, Johnson partnered with actor Morgan Freeman in 2011 to lift funds for hurricane preparedness within the Bahamas. The following yr, he launched a neckwear line to learn the charity Malaria No More. Johnson’s different philanthropic endeavors embody the Liberia Enterprise Development Fund, which he based to help entrepreneurs in Liberia.
Personal Life
In 1969, Johnson wed his spouse Sheila Johnson, with whom he co-founded BET. Together, that they had two kids, and divorced in 2002. Sheila Johnson went on to discovered Salamander Hospitality, which has a portfolio containing resorts and golf golf equipment. She additionally turned concerned in sports activities group possession, with stakes within the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
In 2010, Johnson started a relationship with pupil Lauren Wooden, who’s 33 years his junior. The pair acquired married in 2016 and divorced in 2020.
All internet worths are calculated utilizing information drawn from public sources. When supplied, we additionally incorporate personal ideas and suggestions acquired from the celebrities or their representatives. While we work diligently to make sure that our numbers are as correct as doable, until in any other case indicated they’re solely estimates. We welcome all corrections and suggestions utilizing the button beneath.
