The NBA’s most iconic basketball player, Michael Jordan, has made quite a living for himself since he gave up the game in 2003. He’s an owner of the Charlotte Hornets and his Jordan Brand is ridiculously profitable, with everyone still lining up to buy his shoes, no matter how many times they’re identically released. Because his business outlets have generated a lot of wealth, Jordan has become Forbes’ highest NBA player on their list of billionaires; with a net worth of $1.4 billion dollars.
From Forbes:
A well-timed investment in the Charlotte Hornets basketball team lifted star athlete Michael Jordan into the billionaire ranks in 2015, and is keeping him there this year. He acquired a majority stake in the Hornets in 2010 for $175 million. He increased his ownership to 90 percent in 2013. In 2014 NBA franchise values shot up, thanks largely to racist comments by Donald Sterling that got him banned from the league and led to a bidding war for his Los Angeles Clippers, which was sold to Steve Ballmer for a record $2 billion. The deal helped boost the value of Jordan’s Hornets stake to $500 million. MJ is widely acknowledged as the greatest basketball player of all time, but his salary rarely matched his stature. He was the NBA’s highest-paid player only twice during his 15-year career. His total career playing salary was $90 million, but Jordan has earned another $1.2 billion (pre-tax) from corporate partners since he left North Carolina in 1984.
A billionaire athlete who happens to be African American, Jordan should definitely be proud of this accomplishment. Whether you like how he accumulates his wealth or not, you have to respect his business-making acumen.
