If you ever have the fortune of hearing Sheila Johnson share her story in person, run — do not walk — to grab your ticket, seat or headphones to listen in.
I, for one, am one of those people who has had this opportunity, and I can honestly say, the gems she shared still stick with me to this day.
If you’re unfamiliar with the legend that is Sheila Johnson, let me run you some stats: She became America’s first Black female billionaire after selling BET to Viacom in a deal worth nearly $3 billion. She’s the first Black woman to hold ownership stakes in three professional sports franchises—the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, and Washington Mystics. As CEO of Salamander Collection, she oversees seven luxury resorts spanning multiple states and countries, with a current net worth estimated at $850 million. And if that wasn’t enough, her hospitality company just claimed the top spot as the #1 luxury hotel brand according to USA TODAY readers for two consecutive years.
Now, some people cash out and disappear into quiet luxury. Not Sheila Johnson, honey. When she walked away from BET in 2001, she was just getting started.
Twenty-four years after co-founding Black Entertainment Television with her then-husband Robert Johnson, she could’ve easily settled into a life of philanthropic galas and board meetings. Instead, she took that BET money and built something entirely different: an entire hospitality empire.
Today, Johnson is CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, overseeing a growing portfolio that spans seven properties across D.C., South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Jamaica, and Anguilla. But the path from cable television pioneer to hospitality mogul wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.
The vision beyond television.
When Johnson and her former husband launched BET in 1980, they were building something that had never existed before. And if you’ve ever been the “first” to do something, you know it can come with more than a few challenges (in addition to the element of starting a business with a spouse/family member, but I’ll leave those details for you to read her book). Black audiences finally had their own dedicated space on television, and it completely changed how Black stories got told. BET became the place where careers launched and where Black culture had a real home on TV.
But even as BET grew into a media powerhouse, Johnson was already thinking bigger. She founded Salamander Hotels and Resorts in 2005, four years after selling her BET stake to Viacom. What looked like a departure from media was really her seeing connections others missed.
Building from scratch, again.
The first major test came with Salamander Middleburg, a 340-acre resort that opened in 2013 as the first branded property in Johnson’s hospitality empire. The 168-room resort sits on 340 acres in Virginia’s horse country and holds the only Forbes Five-Star resort rating in the Washington, D.C. area.
A 2023 ESSENCE Power 40 honoree, she told us, “Each day, I wake determined to make memories. No 24 hours is ever remotely the same, and that’s just the way I enjoy it. My companies, from hotels to resorts to sports teams, are in the business of creating experiences and I’m proud of the success we’ve achieved. This includes hosting both the Middleburg Film Festival and The Family Reunion, presented by Kwame Onwuachi, at my Five Star resort in Virginia.”
She also shared, “Beyond raising my two children, opening my resort, Salamander Middleburg, in 2013 was my proudest career accomplishment. There were many obstacles placed in my way, but I persevered. The resort is now one of the most decorated in the United States, and my hospitality company was just named as the number one luxury hotel brand by USA TODAY readers.”
Those obstacles she mentions? They were significant. Johnson has spoken publicly about the challenges she overcame in building her luxury hospitality company and resort in Virginia, saying it all came down to one vote. Local resistance, zoning battles, and the usual skepticism that greets ambitious Black women in business—Johnson faced it all and kept building.
The Salamander effect.
What sets Johnson’s properties apart isn’t just the luxury amenities, though we do love those too. It’s the intentionality behind every detail. Each property reflects Johnson’s understanding that hospitality is about creating spaces where people feel seen, valued, and inspired.
Take The Family Reunion, the annual culinary festival which returned for year five in August 2025 at Salamander Middleburg. She was able to partner with acclaimed chef Kwame Onwuachi (yet again), to create an event that celebrates Black culinary excellence while showcasing her resort’s capabilities. And it’s literally become just that — a family reunion. Folks are lined up each year to grab their tickets and head down to Virginia each year for food, fellowship and what many describe as a whole ‘lotta fun.
The expansion strategy has been equally thoughtful. In September 2022, Salamander partnered with Henderson Park to manage a 373-room property formerly known as Mandarin Oriental Washington D.C., rebranding it as Salamander DC. The location sits steps from the Tidal Basin—home to the city’s famous cherry blossoms, positioning Johnson’s brand in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Beyond hotels.
But hotels are just one piece of Johnson’s ever growing empire. She’s a vice chairman and partner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which manages the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Washington Wizards (NBA), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA). This makes her the only Black woman with ownership stakes in multiple professional sports teams, and solidified her “boss” status with another glass ceiling shattered.
Now you may think, what does Sheila Johnson know about sports? And well, if you know anything about business, you know that’s where the money is. And Johnson understood that sports, like hospitality and media, are fundamentally about creating shared experiences. Whether it’s courtside or countryside, her business is about one thing: bringing people together and making it unforgettable (while bringing in big bucks).
Recognition and results.
The industry has taken notice. In addition to ESSENCE’s Power list, the Salamander Collection was voted #1 Best Luxury Hotel Brand by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice in both 2023 and 2024. Johnson was named one of Hotel Management’s 2018 Influential Women in Hospitality and later CEO of the Year. But perhaps more importantly, her properties are consistently booked, her events sell out, and her brand continues to expand. And we stan a businesswoman who gets more successful year after year.
The legacy continues.
Today, as she continues expanding Salamander’s reach while maintaining her sports investments and various philanthropic efforts, Johnson remains focused on what she does best: creating experiences that bring people together. Whether through a television show, a hotel stay, or a basketball game, she’s still in the business of making memories.
At 76, Johnson shows no signs of slowing down. And the question becomes, why would she? When you’ve mastered the art of turning vision into reality across multiple industries, while becoming a billionaire in the process, and giving back to the very communities that helped you along the way, retirement probably seems pretty boring by comparison.