Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson, 57, was a cable-industry lobbyist until he took out a $15,000 personal loan in 1979 and started the first successful black-owned television network, BET. The network began broadcasting in 1980 and now reaches 65 million viewers.

In 1991, BET became one of the first black-owned and black-controlled companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Johnson sold it to Viacom in 1999 for an estimated $2.3 billion, but continues to serve as the company's chairman and CEO.

— Leslie Fulbright