Magic Johnson Once Refused to Help Daughter With Her Eyewear Business Over an Important Detail

Magic Johnson achieved countless accolades throughout his NBA career but his most impressive achievements may have come following his playing days. The Lakers legend has built a business empire which has led him to become a billionaire in 2023. Despite his abundance in finances, Johnson remained adamant about not involving himself in his daughter’s eyewear business. His reasoning is due to one important detail.

Johnson only earned $40 million from his NBA contracts over his 13-year career. The majority of his financial earnings came from his numerous business ventures.

Johnson has put his hand in the cup of many ownership parties for various teams. He owns small ownership stakes in the MLB’s LA Dodgers, NFL’s Washington Commanders, WNBA’s LA Sparks and MLS’ LAFC. However, most of his wealth comes from his 60% ownership in the life insurance company Equitrust.

The expectation would be that the Hall-of-Famer would be willing to splurge on his children due to the overwhelming treasure trove of money he possesses. That is far from the case. Johnson’s daughter, Elisa, spoke about her father’s reluctance to assist her in her eyewear line ‘Elisa Johnson’.

“My dad said he would help me as long as I had an actual business plan,” Elisa said. “He wasn’t going to just help me and give me the money without actually seeing everything laid out, top to bottom.”

Elisa understood where her father was coming from, so she started from ground zero to build a business plan. After tirelessly working on one she believed was worthy to bring before her father, she decided to show him. His reaction wasn’t the one she was hoping for.

“I showed him my original plan, thinking it was amazing. He actually ended up saying no because he felt like it wasn’t ready,” Elisa said. “I went back to the drawing board and I gave him another one a year ago and he ended up saying yes.”

Magic was well aware of what would happen to a business that didn’t have a strong foundation. In hindsight, Elisa is grateful for her father’s refusal to help her the first go around because it shaped her into a better businesswoman.

After Elisa made revisions to craft the perfect business model, her father agreed to help her fund it. She would go on to launch her brand in 2021. The eyewear company continues to grow and thrive with over 93,000 followers on Instagram.

Elisa remains the top voice for business operations and looks eerily similar to her father as a CEO.