Meet The BET Awards Founder Who Is The First Black American Billionaire

Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 1979 with his wife, Sheila. BET channel was the first cable network targeting the African-American market. It was launched in January 1980, initially broadcasting for two hours a week. In 1991, BET became the first African American-owned company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Robert Jackson is an entrepreneur who is best known as the founder of the BET channel and as America’s first African-American billionaire.

Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 1979 with his wife, Sheila. BET channel was the first cable network targeting the African-American market. It was launched in January 1980, initially broadcasting for two hours a week. 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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He became the first African-American billionaire after selling the network to Viacom in 2001. Johnson has since started a new business, the RLJ Companies, and has invested in an NBA team, a film company, and political causes and campaigns.

Source: GhGossip.com

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