America's first Black billionaire got rich from founding BET. He shares the moment he knew he'd made it.

Thu, 02/29/2024 - 13:13

Photo illustration of Bob Johnson. — Robert L. Johnson founded BET in 1980. Eleven years later, it became the first Black-owned company to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.
L. Cohen/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

Robert L. Johnson became a billionaire after selling BET to Viacom in a $3 billion deal.
He said his best business advice came from the billionaire businessman John Malone.
Johnson emphasized that success is about impact, not money.

It took less than five minutes in a conversation with Robert L. Johnson, the first Black billionaire in the US, to realize the reason my bank account hasn't reached six figures yet: I'm simply not focused on how to make a return on the money I earn each day.