LEBRON JAMES BECOMES A BILLIONAIRE
18-time NBA All-Start, four-time NBA champ, and two-time Olympic gold medalist LeBron James has officially been named a billionaire.
Forbes listed James’ net worth at $1 billion, making him the first active NBA player to make the billionaire list. Former NBA player Michael Jordan didn’t achieve his ten-figure mark until a decade after retiring.
Back in 2014, LeBron manifested his billionaire status when he sat down with GQ for an exclusive interview. “Obviously. I want to maximize my business. And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited,” James told GQ.
James’ earned quite a bit from basketball, but hoop doesn’t make up the majority of his billionaire status. The NBA superstar makes nearly $400 million from basketball, and the rest of his fortune comes from brand deals, real estate, and other investments.
After a productive investment round, James’ newly founded Springhill production company is worth around $300 million dollars. The company was behind his movie “Space Jam: A New Legacy” which generated $162.9 million in worldwide sales. He also owns $80 million in real estate owning at least three mansions in Ohio, Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills. According to Forbes, James’ other cash and investments tallied up to about $500 million. This includes proceeds from Lebron’s Beats by Dre deal in 2014, shares of a publicly-traded fitness company, and more.
“My uncles always taught me — they taught me how to have a savings account,” James said in a podcast on his web platform, UNINTERRUPTED. “They’d give me a dollar and they’d be like, ‘Listen, nephew, go spend 35 cents of it and keep the other 65.’ Or, if they gave me two dollars, they’d be like, ‘Go ahead and spend a dollar of it, but stash the other dollar.'”
James grew up in a single-parent struggling household like most young black boys do. He put in work and became the most prospected high school basket player of our time. He locked in a deal with Nike in 2003 at the age of 18 after rejecting offers from Reebok and Adidas. Over the past year, James’ inked deals with AT&T, PepsiCo, Walmart, and more!
