LeBron James: Powerful, Entrepreneur, Billionaire

Athlete is the second in NBA history to reach 10 figures in equity and the first still on the court

LeBron James, the basketball superstar, became a billionaire. The estimate is from the American magazine Forbes, which shows that the athlete is the second to reach the mark in the history of the NBA and the first to obtain it while still on the courts. Michael Jordan’s achievement of the first billion came more than 10 years after his retirement.

Although he is the highest-paid active athlete in the NBA, less than 35% of King James’ fortune, as he himself has adopted, comes from salary. The bulk comes from their out-of-game contracts and equity stakes in assorted businesses. In addition to the sporting world, his name is associated with industry-wide brands as diverse as AT&T and Walmart.

Far from the old profile of the spendthrift athlete who barely knows how to manage his own money, LeBron is known for doing good business, leaving marketing and sponsorship contracts aside with renowned brands to close with that competitor that gives him equity stakes – he takes the risk , but with the upside potential that wouldn’t have gotten a check.

It also invests in real estate, and one of its most closely watched ventures is the media and entertainment group SpringHill. The athlete created a foundation dedicated to projects for children in his hometown – Akron, Ohio.

Forbes recalls that, in an interview in 2014 (interestingly the same year Jordan became a billionaire) with GQ, the player currently at the Los Angeles Lakers said that he aimed for his billion, as he seeks to maximize his business and this would be a result of that. “And if that happens… Hip hip hooray!”

It was in that same interview that he said he wanted to be a comedy actor, loves to sing, dance and hates coffee. At this peak, he doesn’t even need caffeine. In Forbes’ accounts, that’s $1.2 billion in equity. It’s more or less like that Brazilian pop song says: powerful, entrepreneur, billionaire.

Source: Value Pipeline