In 2002, Johnson made a radical move when took the company private, buying back all of its publicly traded stock. In 2003, BET was no longer a black-owned business when Johnson sold BET to Viacom bought BET for $3.2 billion. Johnson’s 63 percent stake made him the first black billionaire after taxes and the richest black person in the United States. That title as richest black was soon relinquished to Oprah Winfrey when Johnson divorced from his wife of 33 years, Sheila.
