LeBron James is officially a billionaire
Eighteen-time NBA all-star, 4-time NBA champion and 2-time Olympic gold medalist, LeBron James is the first NBA player to officially be declared a billionaire.
Forbes Magazine, in their most recent calculations, said the 37-year-old basketball player’s net worth is estimated at $1 billion following $121.2 million in earnings last year.
James is the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list. According to Forbes, Michael Jordan, the only other basketball billionaire, didn’t hit ten figures until 2014, more than a decade after he retired.
James has commanded more than $385 million in salary from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA’s highest-paid active player. Off the court, he has raked in upwards of $900 million in income from endorsements and other business ventures.
Forbes shared that having been born to a struggling 16-year-old single mother in Akron, Ohio, James lived with an assortment of family members, friends, neighbours and his peewee football coach – moving a dozen times in three years – before becoming the most hyped high school basketball prospect of all time.
He inked his first deal with Nike in 2003, at age 18, famously rejecting offers from Reebok and Adidas in favour of what he saw as the better long-term partner.
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.