BET founder, Bob Johnson, is highly regarded as one of the nation’s top businessmen and has been a longtime leading advocate of closing America’s racial wealth gap.
The founder and chairman of RLJ Companies, Johnson will be one of many prominent speakers at BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 2022 Black Men Xcel Summit. The event will take place Oct. 12 through Oct. 14 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, in National Harbor, Md.
The conference will focus on the leadership, fellowship, celebration, and professional development of Black men.
Johnson is slated to speak at 9 a.m. next Friday. He will discuss wealth-building strategies for Black Americans, including 401(k) portability. Retirement Clearinghouse, LLC (RCH), one of the firms owned by RLJ Companies, is teaming up with Fidelity, Vanguard, and Alight Solutions—three of the nation’s largest 401(k) record keepers—to establish a consortium called Portability Services Network (PSN). It aims to accelerate the nationwide adoption of auto portability to help America’s underserved workers enhance their retirement finances.
A top focus for PSN, expected to launch in the first quarter of 2023, will be improving financial security for individuals and helping them avoid cashing out of their 401(k) accounts early. See more on the venture here.
A serial entrepreneur, Johnson is renowned for his business acumen. RLJ Companies is an innovative business network that owns and holds interests in businesses operating in hotel real estate, private equity, 401(k) fintech services, automobile dealerships, content streaming, gaming, and sports betting.
Before forming RLJ Companies, Johnson was founder and chairman of Black Entertainment Television (BET), the nation’s first Black-owned cable television network.
Johnson has achieved phenomenal business accomplishments over the years. For instance, in 2001 he sold BET to Viacom for around $3 billion, according to his biography. In July 2007, Johnson was named by USA Today as one of The 25 Most Influential Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years.
Two of his holding companies, RLJ-McLarty-Landers Automotive Holdings, LLC and RLJ Equity Partners, LLC, are ranked among the nation’s top Black-owned companies on BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 100s list.
A frequent CNBC contributor, Johnson’s current board memberships include RLJ Lodging Trust; G-III Apparel Group, Ltd.; The Business Council; and Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
To get more details about the 2022 Black Men Xcel Summit visit here.
