Shaquille O’Neal has never been one to settle with what he has. Be it his pursuits on the hardwood or his business conquests, Shaq is always looking to do more. Shaq’s business profile is just as impressive as his Hall-of-Fame NBA career. With countless businesses, investments, and endorsements, Shaq had reasons to believe that he was the wealthiest at one point.
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So, when a list of the wealthiest retired NBA stars came out, Shaq was shocked to find out that Michael Jordan and Junior Bridgeman were ahead of him.
Now, we all know that Shaq is a fierce competitor, so his placement on that list made him feel a little jealous. But instead of letting it take his drive away, Shaq used it to motivate himself.
During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the big fella said, “I use jealousy to motivate me. I work my a** off, and I don’t really care about the list and all that.” But the ‘richest retired athletes’ list was something he wanted to see himself on.
“I arrogantly said, ‘sh*t I gotta be number one,’” he revealed.
But instead of being number one, Shaq was the fifth richest athlete on the list. He was placed behind Bridgeman, Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Dave Bing. Shaq said, “So, now I’m pissed.” The big fella didn’t let his initial reaction affect his vision. He started studying what Bridgeman and Jordan did to be ranked above him.
“He did Wendy’s. Oh, okay, I like chicken, I’m gonna start Big Chicken. Dave Bing doing stuff. Jordan with the shoes, I got my own shoes. Magic is doing a lot of philanthropy work. So, I take all that stuff and I just ramp it up even more,” Shaq revealed.
Shaquille O’Neal imparted financial advice
One simply can’t accumulate a $500 million net worth without invaluable knowledge of money.
In Shaq’s case, he is very savvy when it comes to his money. More importantly, he’s always open to sharing his tactics. He wants to see other people do as well (relatively) as him, so he has been very open when it comes to how he accumulated his wealth.
His biggest piece of advice? Save money.
He once told CNBC, “It’s not about how much you make, it’s about how much you keep. Save 75% of your earnings and put it away. Use the other 25% as you please. Save, save, save. Put away a piece of every paycheck. Even if it is only $50 or $100, it will add up throughout the year.”
As a business owner, he had some advice for other business owners as well.
Shaq said, “You have to use your resources and ask for help when you need it. You can achieve great things with the proper support system.” Shaq believes that surrounding yourself with the right people solves half the problem.
