Very few athletes ever make it to the top of their sport. But LeBron James was already an MVP-caliber player, that too, within the first few years of his being in the league. Having made serious money through his salary, endorsements and shoe deals, LeBron was ready to leave the life of flying commercials behind.
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So when the time came, LeBron went looking for the right person to consult, and that’s where LeBron met Jesse Itzler and Marquis Jet. Marquis Jet was one of the largest private jet card companies. Itzler had co-founded Marquis Jet, and within a few years had quite the clientele. LeBron and Itzler would even partner on a few business endeavours.
It would be through Itzler that LeBron would meet his future business advisor, Paul Wachter. Wachter turned out to be quite the financial wizard, as he soon became LeBron’s lead investment advisor too. Wachter is the founder of the firm, Main Street Advisors. In the book LeBron Inc: The Making of A billion-dollar Athlete in 2020, Brian Windhorst describes the fateful meeting between James and Wachter as one of the most important events in James’s life, and understandably so.
Talking more about it in the book, The Author said,
” With Wachter as the dealmaker and guide, LeBron has forged partnerships and created companies that have added hundreds of millions to his net worth.”
Wachter went on to skyrocket LeBron’s valuation within a matter of a decade, as he found the best possible deals for LeBron. The investment adviser would arrange the deal between Fenway Sports Group and LeBron, allowing for LeBron and Maverick Carter to become minority shareholders in the English firm. Not only that, Wachter also introduced LeBron to the world of ‘entertainment’.
According to Wachter, the greatest leverage that LeBron has is his popularity. So, Paul Wachter would often push LeBron into entering the world of commercials, movies and production, leading to LeBron starting his own production house by the name of Spring Hill Company.
LeBron James and Wachter eye the NBA
LeBron Jamea and Paul Wachter have been partners for a while now, as they first started working together back in 2005. Having worked for almost two decades together, there is one deal that Wachter bought for LeBron that stands out from the rest. Through Wachter, James would sign a deal with Fenway Sports Group, allowing for James to have a minority stake in Liverpool FC and The Boston Red Sox.
With James having reached the final few years of his career, most of LeBron’s efforts will surely be focused on buying a team in the NBA. Wachter even recently commented on James’s desire to own an expansion team in the NBA. Talking about the same to Yahoo Sports, Wachter revealed.
“I think LeBron has been very public in saying that he[ LeBron James] wants to own a team, and that’s something that we are thinking about and working on, … and so you know there might be some expansion franchises awarded,”
LeBron has even made it known that he desires to open a shop in Las Vegas. But it isn’t only James who is looking to invest in a team, as both Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal have expressed their desire to own a team in Las Vegas. As things currently are, there have been nothing more than rumours about the NBA’s plan to insert another team. So, it looks like James will have to wait a while before he can have his team in the league
