LeBron James has spent years building an empire that stretches far beyond basketball, and a newly uncovered financial report offers a revealing look at one of the more sophisticated ways he has used that wealth.
In 2018, an LLC controlled by James borrowed nearly $300 million from two corporate insurers through a deal arranged by an arm of Guggenheim Partners. The sheer size of the transaction might sound like the kind of move associated with financial trouble. The structure tells a very different story.
James did not simply walk into a bank and take out a massive personal loan. The financing was structured through King James Funding, an LLC he controls, which issued private asset-backed bonds purchased by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance and Midland National Life Insurance Co.
The bonds were backed by James’ future off-court income, including his lifetime endorsement agreement with Nike Inc. The initial 2018 bonds carried a 4.8% interest rate and were scheduled to mature in 2049.
That distinction is important because the transaction essentially allowed James to turn future income into present-day liquidity without selling the assets generating that wealth.
It is a strategy often associated with the ultra-wealthy known as “Buy, Borrow, Die.” Rather than selling appreciating assets and potentially triggering enormous capital gains taxes, wealthy investors can borrow against those assets and access cash while retaining ownership.
For James, that meant obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars that could be deployed elsewhere while preserving his broader business interests. At the time, his portfolio of ventures was continuing to expand, including his work through The SpringHill Company.
There was another potential advantage. A fixed interest rate of 4.8% stretching more than three decades gives the borrower considerable time to put the borrowed capital to work. If investments generate returns greater than the cost of the debt, the spread can become part of the overall wealth-building equation.
The arrangement did not end with the original financing. By the end of 2025, the insurers’ outstanding balance had been reduced and restructured to approximately $245 million.
Then, in August 2022, around the time James agreed to a $97 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, the insurers purchased another $60 million in bonds. Those bonds carried a 5.75% interest rate and a 34-year maturity.
James’ representatives have maintained that the transactions were independently credit-rated by a third party. The 2022 financing was also approved by the NBA, addressing questions surrounding potential salary-cap circumvention.
The Guggenheim connection naturally adds another layer of intrigue. The deal was arranged by an arm of Guggenheim Partners when Mark Walter was leading the firm. Walter would later become the controlling owner of the Lakers.
But the timeline matters. James’ original $300 million securitization closed in early 2018, before he signed with Los Angeles and years before Walter acquired his majority stake in the franchise. Representatives have also emphasized that James’ financing arrangements have no connection to the unrelated federal investigation involving Walter’s financial businesses.
For James, the bigger takeaway is less about borrowing money and more about understanding how enormous wealth can be structured. The transaction gave one of the world’s most recognizable athletes access to hundreds of millions in liquidity while allowing him to keep control of the assets and income streams that made the financing possible in the first place.