Shaquille O’Neal is one of the wealthiest athletes in the world of sport.
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Big Shaq‘s dominance on the court and his marketability earned him the big bucks throughout his career. Shaq continued to bring in the dollars as he entered an extremely successful pundit with TNT too.
Along with his career earnings, a series of smart investments too helped elevate Shaq’s status on the wealth charts. The Big Diesel became a flagbearer for financial management in the world of sports.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal’s $400 million fortune came about one “50/50” golden rule
Shaq had quite the social life going too. Spending most of his career under the spotlight of LA and Miami, Shaq got himself into quite the lifestyle.
O’Neal married American Television star Shaunie Nelson in 2002. The wedding was a Shaq-sized carnival and grabbed quite the headlines.
Their marriage and Shaq’s superstardom often made the news. And in 2007, five years after their spectacular marriage, Shaq filed for divorce.
Why did Shaquille O’Neal file for divorce against his wife Shaunie?
In simple terms, Shaq was concerned about his hard-earned fortune. O’Neal’s multimillion savings were resting easy and Big Diesel suspected misuse on his wife’s end at a point in time.
O’Neal cited this as a reason for “irretrievable” cracks in their marriage. The Big Diesel suspected foul play on part of his wife, Shaunie, and requested the court to order an investigation into his spouse’s spending.
While the matter was listed before the legal system, O’Neal requested that his children with Shaunie live with Shaunie. Shaq definitely wasn’t ready for full-time parenting at that stage of his career.
While the couple later reconciled, this proved to be a deep scar in the relationship. Finances within the family can definitely turn dirty in the world of celebrities.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal ditched football in jealousy of a ‘$15 million’ NBA contract
