LeBron James is the only player in the history of the NBA who has amassed a billion dollar fortune while still playing in the league. It was announced by Forbes last year that James had reached billionaire status and it’s understandable as to how he got to this place in his life, considering the fact that he’s been the man in basketball for 2 decades now.
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A lot of what kickstarted his accent to billionaire status was him moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles. James vowed to bring a championship home to the Cavaliers, the team that drafted him. He accomplished this in spectacular fashion in 2016 and after failing to do so again in ‘17 and ‘18, looked for a new home in the summer of 2018.
James would eventually find himself in the City of Angels, as do most superstars throughout the history of the NBA. Los Angeles attracts the best of the best and you can’t get any better than ‘The King’ himself.
Magic Johnson on LeBron James and his fortune
As President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson was at the helm of recruiting LeBron James to LA. James had options like staying in Cleveland or even potentially joining the Philadelphia 76ers during that summer of 2018.
However, after persistent recruitment from Magic, a fellow Hall-of-Fame Lakers point forward, LeBron got convinced and decided he wanted to be a part of the purple and gold.
Recently, while on ‘All the Smoke’, Magic revealed how his pitch to James included the fact that he can increase his net worth to a billion dollars by simply living in Los Angeles. Fast-forward to today and that’s exactly what happened.
“I told him, one, I’m going to build a team that’s going to win a championship, no question about it. But, also two, he’s going to build a billion dollar business here, off the court.”
LeBron James built his fortune from the ground up
LeBron James has earned a total of $431 million just from his contracts in the NBA. Aside from that, he’s started a bevy of companies while being in Los Angeles that have added to his net worth over this past half decade.
He founded Springhill Entertainment, a production company that produced Space Jam 2 and was even involved in ‘Hustle’, Adam Sandler’s Netflix movie starring Juancho Hernangomez. He’s also got his own media company named ‘Uninterrupted’ where he’s had stars from across industries come on and talk about their careers.
His 2021 investment in the Fenway Sports Group made him a part owner in teams like Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox. And of course, his lifetime deal with Nike has him covered in all aspects of his wealth.
