LeBron James becomes the first billionaire playing in the NBA: Where does $1 billion come from?

Forbes magazine recently announced that LeBron James’s net worth reached 1 billiоn USԀ, becoming the first billionaire still playing in the NBA.

At dawn on June 3, Vietnam time, the prestigious economic magazine Forbes confirmed that the NBA officially had the first player to become a billionaire while still playing.

This special nаme is none other than LeBron James, whose net worth is set by Forbes at 1 billiоn US dollars .

LeBron James has officially become a billionaire according to the prestigious magazine Forbes

In the past year, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar pocketed 121.2 million USԀ (from May 2021 to May 2022) including playing salary plus outside income.

This number makes LeBron the second highest-earning athlete of the year, only behind soccer superstar Lionel Messi (130 million USԀ).

Reaching a net worth of $1 billiоn is one of the goals shared by LeBron James 8 years ago, when he was still playing for the Miami Heat in 2014.

“ Just like what I do on the field, I always want to expand my business network. With the support of my partners and the luck of having good relationships, I will constantly aim for new heights ,” LeBron told GQ in an interview.

“ And if one day I become a billiоn-dollar athlete like Michael Jordan once achieved, I will definitely be very happy and excited. It’s an achievement of a lifetime .”

HOW DID LEBRON JAMES EARN 1 BILLIоN DOLLARS?

Everything comes from LeBron James’ top performance in the NBA

According to Forbes magazine, James reached the billiоn-dollar net worth mark thanks to his multi-industry business and constantly improving his image in the NBA.

Professionally, at age 37, LeBron is still one of the top basketball stars in the world. He became the oldest player to average 30.3 points/game, making history in the NBA.

During his entire career, the “king” has earned a total of 385 million US dollars from playing in the NBA, wearing 3 colors including Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.

Outside of basketball, the “king” takes advantage of his image and position to have blockbuster contracts. At the same time, he also has hugely profitable investments.

LeBron James at the premiere of “Space Jam: A New Legacy” in Los Angeles

Recently, LeBron James participated in the production and directly starred in “Space Jam: A New Legacy”, an animated film that has brought in more than 163 million dollars in box office revenue.

Another notable deal is LeBron selling his shares in SpringHill entertainment company. It is unclear how much stake James owns, but SpringHill is valued at up to 725 million USԀ.

Below are Forbes’ statistics on the billiоn-dollar net worth that LeBron James owns (not including income from the NBA):

> He has brought in more than 500 million US dollars from investment sources . Besides SpringHill entertainment company, James, thanks to his shares in several large businesses, pocketed huge sums of money thanks to Apple’s acquisition of the Beats by Dre brand.

> $90 million in income from Fenway Sports Group (FSG). LeBron James used to be a small shareholder of Liverpool Football Club, then he sold this stake to become part of FSG.

This is an investment fund that owns the entire Liverpool Football Club, the Boston Red Sox baseball team, Fenway Park Stadium (home of the Red Sox) and a number of other professional sports teams.

For many years, Fenway Sports Group has continuously been profitable and thanks to that, James has continuously received income from this fund.

James appeared in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid last week

> About $80 million in real estate is what LeBron owns, notably two suρer mansions in Los Angeles worth nearly $60 million.

> $30 million in profits from food and beverage chains , notably Blaze Pizza.

The remaining sources of income come from advertising contracts for a variety of large and small brands such as PepsiCo ($4 million per year), Nike (~$15-20 million per year)…

One billiоn dollars is just the valuation of LeBron James’ net worth at the present time. This number will certainly increase in the future because the 37-year-old superstar is still playing in the NBA and constantly expanding his business network.