LeBron James has officially become a billionaire, according to Forbes. This makes James the first active NBA player to reach the milestone and the second NBA player to achieve billionaire status, joining retired basketball star Michael Jordan.
James, a small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, is the highest-paid player in the NBA, earning $121 million last year on and off the court. He clinched second place on Forbes’ list of the 10 highest paid athletes of 2022, after Lionel Messi, who clinched the top spot.
Overall, James earned $387 million from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, and raised another $900 million from other ventures and endorsements, such as a lifetime sponsorship from Nike. , Blaze pizza franchises and owning a video production company, boosting his pre-tax profit to more than $1.2 billion.
James, originally from Ohio, had a difficult childhood, with his young mother struggling to make ends meet. With the little money he had, James made sure to always put some aside, thanks to a money lesson from his uncles.
“My uncles always taught me — they taught me how to have a savings account,” James said in a podcast on his web platform, UNINTERRUPTED. “They would give me a dollar and they would say, ‘Listen, my nephew, go spend 35 cents and keep the other 65’.” Or, if they gave me two dollars, they’d say, ‘Go ahead and spend a dollar, but hide the other dollar.'”
With a natural talent for basketball, James was recruited by St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in 1999, where he scored over 2,500 points during his 4 years on the team.
In the 2003 NBA draft, James was selected number 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. His NBA debut has been described as “one of the most impressive in league history”, as he scored 25 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. James would become a four-time NBA MVP, win 4 championships, and earn 3 Olympic medals.
The athlete’s foundation, the Lebron James Family Foundation, also opened I PROMISE School, a public school in Akron, Ohio, in 2018. The school is committed to helping students who are at risk of “going between meshes of the net” to succeed academically.
In 2021, James expressed his hope of one day owning an NBA franchise, after becoming part-owner of the Boston Red Sox.
“I have so much to give to the game. I know what it takes to win at this level. I know the talent,” James told interviewers. “I also know how to run a business. And so, that’s my goal. My goal is to own an NBA franchise, and that will be sooner rather than later.”
According to James, he has plenty of life left and he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. He is eligible for a two-year, $97 million contract extension with the Lakers and hopes to play with his son, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., in the near future.
“I can go on for a minute, to be honest,” he said. tweeted. “It’s really up to me and my mind to stay sharp. I’m still a psycho!”
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