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Robert L Johnson was born in Hickory, MS in
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spent most of his life in Freeport Illinois until 1963
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Graduated Freeport High Schooling 1964, and studied history in the University of Illinois.
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In 1979, he and his wife Sheila founded Black Entertainment Television
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BET was launched in January 1980, initially broadcasting for two hours a week.
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In 1991, BET became the first African American-owned company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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In 2000, Viacom announced plans to purchase BET. The sale was finalized the following year and Johnson’s majority stake earned him more than $1 billion, making him the richest African American in the United States at that time as well as the first African-American billionaire.
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in 2002 he developed RLJ Companies. RLJ is a holding company and asset management firm handling a portfolio of companies in the financial services, real estate, hospitality, professional sports, film production, automotive and gaming industries.
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Him and his wife divorced in 2002
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In 2006, he founded Our Stories Films with partner Harvey Weinstein. In 2011, "Our Stories" released the romantic-comedy "Jumping the Broom"
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Where he currently lives is unspecified, but he is now 72 years old and worth $550 million.
