When LeBron James was dubbed “the Chosen One” on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 17, it wasn’t because of his business acumen.
And while the debate over where James stands on the list of greatest basketball players of all time remains a polarizing topic for fans, one thing became undeniably true this week: James has reached billionaire status, something no other active NBA player has ever done.
After taking home roughly $121.2 million in earnings in 2021, James has officially entered the billionaires list with a net worth estimated at $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Throughout his 19-year NBA career, the 37-year-old superstar received more than $385 million in pre-tax salary from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers. Remarkably, only once in his career has the perennial MVP candidate had the highest NBA salary, according to a Coins2Day analysis of ESPN’s NBA salary tracker.
So where did the bulk of James’ earnings come from during his career?
Off the court, the four-time NBA champion has earned more than $900 million from endorsements and savvy business ventures, as well as through his ownership of several multimillion-dollar estates in Ohio and Los Angeles, according to Forbes.
About half of James’ net worth comes from his stakes in real estate properties and business ventures. His production company SpringHill Co., which Forbes estimates to be worth around $300 million, produced the 2021 hit movie Space Jam: A New Legacy, which starred James and earned roughly $163 million at the box office.
James is also a part owner of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, and Liverpool F.C., among others. He’s also racked in profits from his share of holdings in pizza chain Blaze Pizza, ride-hailing company Lyft, and smart-fitness startup Tonal.
Another large portion of James’ income comes through endorsement deals, including with well-known brands like AT&T, PepsiCo, Walmart; recently, he appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Crypto.com.
In 2003, James was 18 when he signed a shoe deal with Nike, choosing the company over lucrative offers from Reebok and Adidas. In 2015, Nike announced it had extended James’ contract into a lifetime agreement worth tens of millions of dollars annually.
The 18-time All-Star has been open about his business goals outside of basketball throughout his career. In a 2014 cover story for GQ, James described his journey toward becoming a billionaire as his “biggest milestone.”
“Obviously. I want to maximize my business. And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited,” James said at the time.
Eight years later, he’s done it.
James joins Michael Jordan as the only other NBA player who has a net worth of more than $1 billion, though it took Jordan more than a decade after he retired to achieve the feat, according to Forbes.
The two legends are the highest-earning members of a generations-spanning legacy of NBA superstars who have turned basketball stardom into business success off the court, including the likes of Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal.
In the 1970s, Erving became one of the first NBA stars well-known for his ability to profit outside the game, according to ESPN. Erving signed one of the largest-ever shoe deals with Converse, ushering in the wave of player-sponsored shoes that continues today. He made news in 1985 for purchasing a stake in Philadelphia’s Coca-Cola bottling franchise, which netted him millions.
Johnson and O’Neal have had similar success throughout their post-basketball careers. Johnson is currently a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, among other investments, and O’Neal is a minority owner of Papa John’s pizza chain, among others.
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