Robert Johnson sells BET to Viacom for $3 billion, becomes first Black billionaire

Robert L. Johnson completed the sale of Black Entertainment Television (BET) to Viacom on January 23, 2001 for approximately $3 billion, making him the first Black American billionaire. The landmark transaction validated the commercial value of Black-targeted media and demonstrated that a Black entrepreneur could build and exit a media company at the very highest levels of American capitalism.