R obert Johnson is an American success story. Raised in a poor family in a rural Illinois town, he now runs the parent company of cable giant Black Entertainment Television. He says he spread his money around to candidates who helped pass the 1996 bill that will deregulate cable rates. Because of it, Johnson and other cable network executives are now freer to manipulate their prices. Browse The full Mother Jones 400 list.
Profiles Meet the people with political pull.
Individuals Search the top 400 political donors by name, industry, state, or contribution amount. The details of every donation, searchable by donor, recipient, date, amount, and more. All letters to the editor are for publication and may be edited for length and clarity.