How LeBron James became the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list / News - Basketnews.com

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LeBron James has hit yet another milestone, doing something no other NBA player has ever done.

LeBron James

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After a year of earnings, totaling $121.2M last year, Forbes estimates the 4-time NBA champion and 2-time Olympic gold medalist has become a billionaire.

The 37-year-old Lakers forward has a net worth of $1 billion, by Forbes' count.

"It’s my biggest milestone," James told GQ in a prophetic 2014 interview. "Obviously. I want to maximize my business. And if I happen to get it, oh, my God, I’m going to be excited."

Throughout his basketball career, James has accrued more than $385 million in salary from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA’s highest-paid active player. In particular, he has earned $64 million in four seasons with the Miami Heat; $153 million in four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, his current squad; and $170 million in 11 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After more than a decade of success, he struck a lifetime agreement with Nike in late 2015 that pays him tens of millions annually. Last year, thanks to Nike, plus deals with brands like AT&T, PepsiCo and Walmart, he was the second-highest-earning athlete in the world.

Here’s a breakdown of LeBron James’ estimated $1 billion fortune, according to Forbes.

THE SPRING HILL COMPANY: $300 MILLION

Named for the Akron, Ohio, apartment complex where James and his mother finally found stability, SpringHill combined three companies into one: James’ Robot Company marketing agency, athlete platform Uninterrupted and SpringHill Entertainment, founded in 2007 as a production vehicle for the award-winning documentary about James’ high school years, More Than A Game.

LeBron James

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James is the company’s largest single shareholder, although his stake is believed not to exceed 50%.

FENWAY SPORTS GROUP: $90 MILLION

James already counts pro baseball, soccer and hockey teams among his holdings.

He held a minority stake in Liverpool F.C., in 2011, when his sports marketing business entered into a partnership with Fenway Sports Group. Last year, he and Maverick Carter exchanged their stakes in Liverpool for a part ownership of FSG.

James is estimated to own around 1% of the group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and Liverpool, plus half of Roush Fenway Racing and 80% of the New England Sports Network.

REAL ESTATE: $80 MILLION

James owns at least three properties, worth about $80 million in all. He built a $10 million mansion near his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He bought an 8-bedroom spread in Los Angeles’ tony Brentwood neighborhood in 2017 for $23 million.

His latest splurge: a 13,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion. James paid $36.75 million for the 1930s hilltop home, which he has already torn down to replace with a mansion of his own.

BLAZE PIZZA: $30 MILLION

James reportedly paid less than $1 million for a 10% slice of the made-to-order, assembly-line-style pizza chain in 2012; it's since grown to more than 300 company-owned and franchised stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Forbes estimates James' stake in the chain–plus his small cut of 18 Blaze franchise stores in Florida and Illinois to be worth about $30 million.

CASH AND OTHER INVESTMENTS: MORE THAN $500 MILLION

Forbes still believes James has more than a half-billion dollars in net assets beyond what's listed above. This includes proceeds from major scores, like the $3 billion sale of Beats by Dre to Apple in 2014 and shares of publicly traded fitness company Beachbody, which acquired the sports nutrition company James cofounded with Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 2020 for $28 million in stock.

That's how LeBron James became the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list. Michael Jordan, the only other basketball billionaire, didn’t hit ten figures until 2014, more than a decade after he retired, thanks to a well-timed investment in the Charlotte Hornets basketball team.

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