Early life and education

Johnson was born in 1955 in Clarksville, Tennessee. He grew up in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Georgia. He attended Furman University in Greenville, SC and earned a degree in accounting from the University of Arizona in 1977. He earned his CPA certification in 1981. He also earned subsequent licenses in stocks, commodities, options, options principal, real estate, life insurance and securities supervisory.

Career

Johnson had a career in investment banking from 1981 to 1992, working for E. F. Hutton & Co., Shearson-Lehman, and Prudential Securities.

His television career started during the 1987 stock market crash, when KGUN, the ABC affiliate in Tucson, invited him to provide an expert interview. Shortly afterward, the station hired him to provide daily stock market reports and analysis. He started his own syndicated news service in 1990.

Johnson currently hosts the nationally syndicated financial news series Money Talks which airs within the local news of about 80 network-affiliates in 35 states, as well as websites including Yahoo Finance and MSN Money. His company also provides educational video to major credit counseling companies.

Marriage and children

Johnson is unmarried and lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.