Robert L. Johnson Biography: Height, Parents, Net Worth, Ethnicity



Known for movies



Robert L. Johnson is an American businessman and media mogul. He is the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and the Robert L. Johnson Development Company. He is also the former co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. As of 2019, Johnson’s net worth is estimated at $7.8 billion.

Johnson was born on April 8, 1946, in Hickory, Mississippi, to parents who were sharecroppers. He was the ninth of ten children. Johnson’s father died when he was only four years old, and his mother had to raise the family on her own. Despite the difficult circumstances, Johnson was able to attend college, thanks to financial assistance from relatives and scholarships. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1969 with a degree in economics.

After college, Johnson began his career in politics, working as an aide to then-Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a lobbyist for the National Urban League. In 1974, Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television, which became the first television network aimed at African American audiences. BET quickly became a success, and by the early 1990s, it was available in more than 50 million homes.

In 2001, Johnson sold BET to Viacom for $3 billion. He used the proceeds from the sale to launch the Robert L. Johnson Development Company, a real estate investment firm. The company has developed several high-profile projects, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., and the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York City.

In 2010, Johnson became the first African American to become a majority owner of a professional sports team when he purchased the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets) of the NBA for $275 million. He sold his stake in the team in 2018 for an estimated $800 million.

Johnson is married to Sheila Crump Johnson, with whom he has three children.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia