Written by award-winning journalist Brett Pulley, The Billion Dollar BET is the first-ever in-depth look at one of the most enigmatic and important entrepreneurs of our time. This revealing book offers a colorful portrait of a brilliant and relentlessly focused businessman, whose life is a window into race, culture, and capitalism. From Johnson’s rural Mississippi roots and early years in blue-collar Illinois, to his graduate life at Princeton University and career as a cable industry lobbyist on Capitol Hill, The Billion Dollar BET traces his inspired climb to the top and his often controversial tenure at the helm of one of the most influential media outlets in the country. You’ll discover how Johnson won the support of media titans John Malone and Sumner Redstone, and watch as BET begins to take on far greater social significance than even Johnson could ever have imagined. You’ll also learn how Johnson handled pivotal events in the company’s history, such as the public attacks on BET’s program content and the decision to sell the firm to media giant Viacom.

Much more than a corporate analysis of profits and losses, The Billion Dollar BET is a story about savvy, vision, timing, determination, failure, scandal, love, and sex--all the things that occur behind the scenes as a company and its leader grow up. It reveals an ambition and fiery determination that burned so hot that friendships were shattered, family relationships destroyed, and hearts broken.

Filled with revealing anecdotes and never-reported details of Johnson’s life and business acumen, The Billion Dollar BET is a classic American business tale. This is the story of the greatest $15,000 bet ever made. It is the story of Robert Louis Johnson and the billion-dollar empire that he built.