Shaquille O’Neal has long been known to be an early investor in global giant, Google. While he never revealed how much he invested in the $1,620,000,000,000 company, Shaq got a considerable return just a few years later. Back in 2018, speaking on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, O’Neal revealed how he chanced upon the opportunity to early-stage invest in Google. The LA Lakers legend was actually with some kids while their father was busy in a meeting, back in the early 1990s. Their dad ended up being impressed by the then-youngster and decided to let him in on the company.
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Via sheer luck, Google became the first of the many shrewd investments that Shaq would make over the years. With a simple philosophy of trying to invest in life-changing products, according to CNBC, O’Neal today stands with a whopping net worth of over $400 million.
Shaquille O’Neal Chanced Upon Google Investment Through Sheer Luck
O’Neal is well-known for his wholesome and hilarious personality. When he first got to LA around 93 or 94, he was at a Four Seasons Hotel. Shaq was playing with some kids while their father was in a meeting.
Even though the man had no idea who O’Neal was, he was impressed due to the fact that he was “good with kids.” This directly led to the investment opportunity, which O’Neal was happy to take up. Here is what he said on the matter.
“I’m actually babysitting the guy’s kids while he’s in a meeting,” O’Neal says. “So after the meeting, he says, ‘You know what? You’re good with kids, I like you, I’m going to bring you in on this investment.’ And it was called Google. He said, ‘You know, in the future, you’re going to be able to type on your phone, search engine this, do this, boom, boom, boom, you should invest.’ I invested, and then a couple of years later, I got a really big return.”
One of Shaq’s most significant investment opportunities arrived due to sheer luck. While it is unclear exactly how much he made via Google, O’Neal got in a decade before Google went public, which suggests that he made an exponential killing.
O’Neal Once Refused to Invest in Starbucks
While there have been a range of successes, there have been some misses for O’Neal as well. Shaq once refused to invest in Starbucks when CEO Howard Schulz wanted to expand to African-American communities.
O’Neal was of the opinion that “black people” simply didn’t drink coffee. While he ended up losing big money, Shaq had little regret.
O’Neal claimed that he has never been able to invest in something he doesn’t believe in. This has led to some incredible success, but also this miss with respect to Starbucks. Regardless, with a $400 million net worth, there is little doubt that Shaq is sitting pretty.
