Billionaire Sheila Johnson Says a Bad Hire Cost Her $12 Million

The Hospitality Lesson Sheila Johnson Learned From a $12 Million Mistake

The Salamander Resorts founder and first Black female billionaire shares a cautionary tale.Credit: Food & Wine / Eric Kleinberg PhotographySheila Johnson was in the biggest fight of her life, and that's really saying something. You don't get to be the first Black female billionaire without getting into some scraps along the way, and this time, she was up against the "good old boys" of Middleburg, Virginia — plus a couple of ghosts. Political act…

Billionaire Sheila Johnson says a bad hire cost her $12 million

Sheila Johnson, the BET co-founder turned luxury hotelier, told an audience at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen that a single bad hire cost her $12 million while she was building her Salamander Resort, a mistake she says taught her to be ruthless about the people she lets into her business.Johnson, who co-founded Black Entertainment Television before becoming one of America's most prominent luxury hoteliers, shared the story at a breakout sessio…