COVER STORY
Hotel Bennett in Charleston , S . C ., is known colloquially as the “ Queen of King Street .” Photo credit : Drew Castelhano
Charlotte Bobcats ( now Hornets ), made it even tougher . Consider one of Robert Johnson ’ s other businesses he started , the REIT RLJ Lodging Trust , a publicly traded owner of hotels . Sheila Johnson is quick to point out that she was a heavy investor in the company .
It ’ s no wonder she tends to go big . Of her involvement in professional sports , Johnson was originally asked to invest in the WNBA ’ s Washington Mystics . She set her sights higher . “ I was given a moment in time as a woman , as an African American , to be the first to buy in a sports team ,” she said . Why one , when you can have three ? She went to Ted Leonsis , the founder , majority owner , chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment , which owns the NHL ’ s Washington Capitals , NBA ’ s Washington Wizards and the Mystics . “ I made him a deal ,” Johnson said . She ’ d buy into all three teams , becoming the first woman and African-American sports owner . “ He loved the idea ,” she said .
Johnson ’ s involvement in professional sports fundamentally ends with her checkbook . The hospitality business , that ’ s another story , and much of her success within it can be traced back to her daughter , whose equine leanings brought Johnson to Middleburg , an hour due west of Washington , D . C ., where Johnson once taught music at Sidwell Friends , the tony private school that graduated both Obama daughters and Chelsea Clinton . ( Johnson
The lobby or “ living room ” at Half Moon in Jamaica . Photo credit : Eric Stein
14 hotelsmag . com October 2023