“Magic Johnson sold his Lakers stake for anywhere between $27 million and $50 million”: How a 2010 deal saw Magic sell his 4.5% stake in the purple gold

Magic Johnson bought a 4.5% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers and would go on to sell that in 2010 with the amount not being disclosed. 

Magic Johnson burst onto the scene as quite the anomaly. A 6’9 point guard who could play center but also pass the rock like Oscar Robertson or Bob Cousy before him is a player who sounds like a Hall-of-Fame talent. Well, that certainly is true as Magic went on to win 5 NBA championships in an 11 year span. 

Despite him having literally saved the NBA along with Larry Bird in the 1980s, player contracts didn’t exactly reflect that during the time. In total, Magic Johnson earned himself around $39 million in career earnings, a number that is eclipsed by players like Steph Curry and John Wall in a single season.

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However, careering earnings aside, Johnson used his marketability to grow a financial empire of his own. His net worth currently stands to around $600 million. These numbers are never precise but it’s impressive to know that it is in that ballpark. 

Magic Johnson bought stake in Lakers and sold it in 2010. 

Magic Johnson buying stake in the Los Angeles Lakers makes complete sense given his close relationship with the Buss family and the fact that he was the greatest player in franchise history at the time. In June of 1994, he bought a minority stake of 4.5% in the Lakers that was worth about $10 million. 

Fast-forward nearly two decades and he would go on to sell the stake to a billionaire Lakers season tickets holder who had been so for the last 25 years. The amount Magic received from the sale was not disclosed but given that the Lakers were worth around $607 million in 2010, it can be estimated he made around $30 million.

Also read: “James Worthy and Magic Johnson used to run trains on cheerleaders during halftime”: Lakers legend gets mocked after trying to roast current generation of players

Sitting on a $10 million investment for 16 years and having it increase in value by 300% is quite the business savvy investment (should be noted some sites claim he actually made around $40-50 million by selling).

Johnson investing in the Lakers is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to good investments as his ‘Magic Johnon Enterprises’ is directly responsible for his current net worth being in the hundreds of millions.