BET's Johnson Invests in IRA Rollover Company
The Washington Post - April 2005
Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson is thinking about retirement, but definitely not his own.
Johnson announced last week that he has invested millions of dollars (he won't say exactly how much) and taken the role of chairman for RolloverSystems Inc., a
four-year-old Charlotte company that automates the rolling over of
Johnson met the company's chief executive and founder, Reginald Bowser, on one of his frequent visits to Charlotte, where the BET creator owns the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association.
"I was impressed with Reggie's entrepreneurial passion, and also I believe he's come up with a superior transaction technology," Johnson said in a telephone interview from his BET office in the District. "I can lend my credibility and visibility and help him get in at the top level of companies to make a pitch."
Johnson, 58, made more than $1.4 billion from the sale of BET to Viacom Inc. in 2000 and remains its chairman and chief executive through this year. He has been picking and choosing among new ventures to back, especially black-owned businesses like RolloverSystems.
His RLJ Cos. already has become the biggest African-American owner of hotel properties. "Now, I'm sort of transitioning into what I consider the financial services or financial transaction sector," he said.
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