Kobe Bryant always looked for opportunities wherever he could find it, and when he saw Epic Games’ platform, he knew had to cash in.
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Kobe’s legacy was built up by everything he achieved in his career, his five rings, Finals MVPs, scoring titles, and more, but a major part of his also the fact that he spent his entire career with the Lakers.
In an era defined by player autonomy and the right to take your brand anywhere, Kobe chose to stay put. He stayed put even when the Lakers were rebuilding and had no superstars to surround him with when he easily could have been playing along a superstar or two had he wanted.
He made the Lakers must see TV even when they weren’t. 20 seasons. That’s how long Kobe was a Laker. Countless memories were made. Everything from pure elation to absolute heartbreak included. That’s who Kobe was for LA.
Kobe Bryant chose to invest in Epic Games, but not for Fortnite
Bryant was active in his professional career even after he retired from the Lakers. The LA legend had a net worth of $600 million when he tragically passed away in 2020, and he built that fortune on the back of smart investments.
Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel founded the investment firm Bryant Stibel in 2013 to cash in on various businesses and companies’ stakes. Some of these include gaming companies too.
In 2019, Kobe and Stibel talked about the rise of gaming in the US and their investment choice in Epic Games, a company valued at $31.5 billion.
Epic Games’ biggest and most popular game is Fortnite, but Bryant and Stibel weren’t investing in Fortnite when they chose to dump money into the company.
Rather, they knew that Epic’s crowning jewel was its engine. The Unreal Engine is one of the most popular engines in the gaming world. Games like Borderlands 3, Gears 5, and Sea of Thieves are some of the more popular ones that run on the engine.
“Gaming is critically important to the cultural ecos, but it’s not just about the games, …we’re actually trying to invest in the platforms,” Stibel said. “Fortnite is owned by Epic, and their Epic engine is building hundreds of games for themselves and the businesses that are using it.”
