After four years with the Orlando Magic, Shaquille O’Neal received a massive contract when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. And with this big contract came some similarly massive purchases, like $600,000 worth of cars. However, unfortunately for the big man, this ended up pissing off Shaq’s financial guru, Lester Knispel. In his 2011 book, Shaq Uncut, he said,
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“My moneyman Lester Knispel was so mad at me he didn’t talk to me for two weeks.”
Of course, this was never going to seem like a good decision, and Shaq isn’t often irresponsible with his money. So, what prompted this? O’Neal explained this as well.
“I’m looking at this beautiful Bentley and this old, stuck-up white guy, a classic car salesman… I say to him, “How much is this car?” He looks me up and down and says, “Are you sure you can afford it, sonny boy?” … I was really, really offended. While I’m standing there I hear this kind of squeaky voice that sounds familiar and there he is—Mike Tyson, the boxer.”
The Big Aristotle may have a heart of gold, but he also has the pride of a lion. So, this little jibe by the salesman was always going to rub him the wrong way. And so, when it happened, all the big man could think of was showing up everyone there… including the great Mike Tyson.
“He’s looking at Bentley’s, too. Next thing I know Tyson has picked out two. He’s buying two of these cars, so you know what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to buy three! I grab the salesman and I say, “I want that silver hardtop one, and I want the green one, and give me that red one over there, too.”.
Shaq would later mention how the cars didn’t really mean an awful lot to him. He was forced to spend quite a bit of money on customizing them just so that he could fit in the vehicles. And eventually, when he wished to sell them, this caused several different headaches of its own.
Simply put, Lester Knispel was right to be mad from the very beginning. The financial advisor saw all the problems coming far before they actually took place. So, needless to say, Shaq was absolutely right to hire him.
How did Shaquille O’Neal choose his financial advisor?
After making it big in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal knew he had to get a financial advisor to better handle his money and expenses. And that is when Lester Knispel came in.
Out of the countless people Shaq and his mother met for the job, Knispel was the only one who stood out to them. Why? Solely because he included Shaquille O’Neal’s mother in the process when no one else would.
“Lester was smarter than that. He told my mother, “You can see the books anytime you want.”
Eventually, Shaq’s mother Lucile started to trust him and form a healthy working relationship with Knispel. In fact, as time went on, there was so much trust built up, that the Lakers legend’s mother eventually stopped checking the books completely.
Evidently, Lester Knispel was the perfect person for the job.
