Robert L. Johnson made history in several ways, but none have touched the lives of our community more than his greatest achievement. He is the country’s first African American billionaire and is responsible for more Blacks becoming millionaires than any other person in the history of this
forwp-incontent-ad1">
country. Black Entertainment Television, the company Johnson founded in 1980, also
made history as the first Black company to be listed on the NYSE. Since selling BET to Viacom in 2001, Johnson has embarked on his “second act.” And along the way, he continues to build multigenerational wealth for his employees. He’s founder and chairman of
The RLJ Companies and is the only CEO in the history of
BLACK ENTERPRISE to have three companies on the BE 100s, a listing of the nation’s largest Black-owned companies. As we approach the 10
th anniversary of the XCEL Summit for Men, Johnson will be honored this year with an XCEL Award. A long-time friend of BE, we revisit his conversation with
CEO Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr., when he detailed his strategy that made those employees millionaires 25 years ago. Click on the video below and hear directly how you can follow in his footsteps to bring wealth to your community and the people you work with. You might become a billionaire in the process.
RELATED CONTENT: 2013 EC: Bob Johnson’s $3 Billion Sale of BET