MAGIC When it comes to money, Johnson certainly has a magic touch.

The NBA icon has joined Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods as the fourth professional athlete to become a billionaire.

According to Forbes magazine, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is now worth $1.2 billion as a result of a series of wise investments such as professional sports teams, movie theaters, and Starbucks cafés.

His primary source of wealth is thought to be a 60% share in the Iowa-based life insurance business EquiTrust, which he bought in 2015.

Johnson extended his sports empire last summer by acquiring a minority partner in the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

The basketball great is part of an investment group led by Josh Harris that completed the $6.05 billion acquisition of the Commanders from Dan Snyder.

According to sources, Johnson owns 4% of the Commanders, a $242 million investment.

It implies that Magic Johnson Enterprises’ CEO and chairman, Magic Johnson, now has holdings in four major professional sports clubs in the United States.

Johnson is a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s LA Sparks, and MLS team LAFC, in addition to his interest in the Commanders.

Johnson described his role in the selling of the Commanders as “truly the biggest achievement in my business career and a historic moment for the entire Black community.”

Here’s a look at how Johnson became a millionaire.

SAVVY BUSINESS AT LAKERS

Johnson established himself as a skilled businessman almost immediately after joining the NBA in 1979, after winning the NCAA basketball championship with Michigan State. He signed a five-year rookie contract with the Lakers for $460,000 per year, as well as a $100,000-per-year shoe deal with Converse.

Johnson was so valuable to the Lakers that he agreed to a 25-year, $25 million contract with the franchise, which started in 1984 and was set to end in 2009. Johnson joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone as one of three NBA players to earn $1 million per year, but he rapidly became underpaid as the league’s popularity soared in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Johnson got a $14.6 million contract extension for the 1994-95 season when he made a comeback in 1992 after being diagnosed with HIV the previous year. At the time, the one-year contract was the highest ever paid to a single player in team sports history. Johnson’s contract guaranteed him $19.6 million over the following three seasons even if he didn’t play a single game.

On the court, he made just about $40 million from his Lakers contracts and ended up earning $2 million each year with Converse. He also agreed to be a sponsor for 7UP, KFC, Lincoln vehicles, McDonald’s, Quality Dairy, and Slice soda. Johnson, on the other hand, would regret signing with Converse rather than Nike. He turned down an offer to accept Nike stock instead of cash, which might have made him billions as Nike’s stock price rose over the years.

TURNING $40 MILLION INTO $1.2 BILLION

Johnson has amassed an estimated personal worth of $1.2 billion since leaving from the NBA, owing to a series of clever business partnerships.Magic Johnson Enterprises, which comprised a dozen 24 Hour Fitness sites, more than 100 Starbucks locations, 31 Burger Kings, movie theaters and malls, a T.G.I. Friday’s in Los Angeles, and other companies around the nation, was a crucial element of his corporate empire

.He reportedly paid $10 million for a 4.5% ownership in the Lakers in 1994. In 2010, he sold that interest to billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. That same year, he returned his Starbucks franchises to the corporation, receiving nearly $100 million from both transactions. Johnson paid $50 million for a 2.3% share in the Dodgers in 2012. Johnson told HBO that it was the biggest check he had ever written in his life.

According to Forbes, the Dodgers were worth $2.15 billion at the time, but the organization is now worth $4.8 billion. Johnson is also a founding partner of LAFC, which paid an expansion fee of $110 million to join MLS and is currently worth an estimated $1 billion. He also purchased an interest in the Sparks in 1994, and he has dabbled in esports as an investor in aXiomatic with Ted Leonsis, owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals. 

Johnson also collaborated with Canyon Capital to fund 30 real estate deals across 13 states. He was also involved in the $8 billion reconstruction of New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Johnson’s controlling ownership of EquiTrust insurance firm has increased its assets from $16 billion to $26 billion since Johnson assumed control roughly a decade ago. Johnson, a prominent figure, has dabbled in television with a Fox late-night chat show, a long-running stint as an ESPN basketball commentator, and is the subject of a new Apple TV documentary.

The Commanders are the newest addition to a vast economic empire that shows no signs of slowing down.”God is so wonderful…It’s still hard for me to believe! “I am currently living in a prayer answered,” Johnson said on Twitter.”My journey as an athlete, and now as a businessman and team owner, has been a dream that has come full circle.””I grew up playing football as a child, and I’m an avid NFL fan who watches games every week.””Now, I get to co-own a storied franchise, the Washington Commanders.”