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As LeBron James gears up for his 20th season looking to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s leading scoring record, he breaks one in the offseason becoming the first active NBA player to be a billionaire.
James has said this is his biggest accomplishment. His longevity in the NBA was a Kickstarter for his business journey as he has gained over 387 million dollars as a player in the league. This along with his business partner Maverick Carter has opened up multiple avenues that have gotten him to this point.
Smart business acquisitions are what has gotten him to this point. He is a minority stakeholder of the Liverpool Football Club and a partial team owner of the Boston Red Sox.
Maverick Carter along with James is the first black pair to be on the investment firms owning the Red Sox and Liverpool.
Carter regularly appears on “The Shop” which is a talk show where athletes, musicians, and everyone in between come on to talk about their lives and topics. The show also comes on a brand that James created called Uninterrupted which allows athletes to talk about themselves freely.
These feats are impressive because James is still playing in the NBA so while also being the face of the league he is also the owner of some teams in other leagues.
“It’s my biggest milestone. I want to maximize my business,” James said, “And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited.”
This quote comes as early as 2014 as James is thinking ahead into the future of what could be and it has finally come true.
One of his better investments came from Blaze Pizza as in 2013 he invested 1 million dollars into the upstart company. In 2017 his stake was at $25 million. By 2020 he had seen his money skyrocket to $40 million
As a teenager sneaker brands like Reebok, and Adidas wanted James to join their brand as he was highly sought after.
He betted on himself and waited to sign a $90 million contract with Nike as just a teenager. James has been one of the biggest faces of the brand and was recently awarded a lifetime contract that was over $30 million a year.
“I never thought this day would come about, me entering a lifetime deal with such a great company like Nike. I’m just thinking about them taking a chance on a 17-year-old skinny kid from Akron, Ohio,” James said, “I always told myself, Bron, let’s try to figure out a way to put this city on the map, and hopefully I will continue to make the city proud.”
James is proud of where he comes from with his roots being in Akron and has said this isn’t just about his family or friends it’s about everyone. The journey has included everyone as he salutes people who have supported him.
His play on the court and different business avenues along with his outstanding fans has gotten him to this point.
James doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon as he is still on a quest to be the best basketball player of all time while also being the best businessman he could be.
