Charles Barkley is one of the most successful players off the court in comparison to his other NBA legend counterparts. After failing to earn himself a championship ring following 16 years in the league, he retired in the year 2000 as a Houston Rocket.
Advertisement
That very same year, Turner Sports noticed that Chuck would be the perfect candidate to place alongside Ernie Johnson and Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith. Sir Charles was always a figure shrouded in controversy and a lot of his endorsements even played off that gimmick. However, he was also incredibly funny and likable.
Barkley was a man who belonged on the silver screen. His crass humor mixed in with his knowledge of the NBA made for peak television. ‘Inside the NBA’ executives realized this and of course, offered him the largest contract of his life. He’s currently signed to a $100-200 million deal with TNT over the course of 10 years.
Charles Barkley had to learn to say no
Charles Barkley is undoubtedly the most successful man in his entire immediate family. So, it’s natural for him to be that guy everybody in the family goes to if they ever hit a hurdle in their life financially. Even his friends felt as though if anything went wrong, The Chuckster would be able to save them.
However, as he got older and as time passed, Barkley realized that the supposed $40 million net worth he amassed was from his own blood, sweat, and tears. If he kept helping every single person around him when they needed it, he would soon be bled dry.
Chuck’s advice to a lot of up-and-coming athletes resonated quite well with them. He said:
“You have to learn to say the magic word: no. I do not owe you anything. If I want to do something for family, I’ll do it — but I do not have to keep them on payroll and support them their entire life. I lost a lot of family and friends because of that, and it was money well spent getting rid of them.”
Charles Barkley is quite the generous man
That quote may make a few people think twice about Charles Barkley and his generosity as a multi-millionaire. However, he’s done quite a lot with his wealth that would put him in anybody’s good graces.
He’s donated $1 million to his home state of Alabama for ALS research and had made it a regular thing for himself to donate to HCBUs. He recently donated a million dollars each to two separate HBCUs.
