September 24th 2023.
Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET and the first Black female billionaire in America, is set to release her upcoming memoir, Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph. Recently, she sat down with Fortune to give a glimpse into her professional journey and what readers can expect from her book.
“I’ve suppressed so much in my life, and the pain has been terrible,” Johnson shared. “Everyone else has been telling my story, and [theirs] isn’t accurate. I needed to take my power back.”
Johnson became a billionaire in the early 2000s when BET was sold to Viacom for $3 billion. In her book, Johnson discusses the decline of BET, which she described as "the go-to destination for Black audiences.”
“There was no network that appealed to the African American voice. And our voices needed to be heard,” she said. This decline was attributed to her former husband and co-founder, Bob, who was caught cheating and ended BET’s successful run. In a 2004 interview, Johnson referred to Bob as “brilliant”.
Johnson then moved on and opened her own luxury hospitality company, Salamander Hotels and Resorts. When asked why she decided to open this venture, Johnson replied, “I could have stayed home and just enjoyed my money, but I wanted to prove that I could create a business on my own because, at BET, I wasn’t credited for how big a role I played in its success.”
Johnson’s ambition and vision found her approval in the 340-acre Salamander Middleburg Resort in Virginia. “This was a town that was totally bankrupt but so bucolic,” Johnson said. “I thought that building [a resort] could become the economic engine, and I could visualize it.” She won the town’s approval by one vote, saying “I knew if I could make it work, it would be historical.”
Today, Johnson is worth an estimated $840 million with investments in Florida and Virginia hotels, planes, real estate, and horses. She is also the first Black woman to own stakes in three professional leagues according to her Fortune interview. Johnson also established her 900-acre Innisbrook Golf Resort in Florida, which hosts an annual PGA Tour championship.
Johnson’s memoir, Walk Through Fire, is set to release soon. It will be an interesting insight into her journey as a businesswoman and her rise to become the first Black female billionaire in America.
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