*Forbes reports that NBA Hall of Famer Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson has reached billionaire status.
Johnson is the fourth professional athlete to reach the milestone following a lucrative post-basketball career that included investments in professional sports teams, movie theaters, Starbucks cafes, a PepsiCo bottling plant, and a health insurance company, per Forbes.com.
Johnson, 64, owns a minority stake in the NFL’s Washington Commanders, as well as stakes in the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, and the MLS’ LAFC. Based on his stakes in these teams, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $1.2 billion.
The 12-time NBA All-Star also owns a 60% stake in Iowa-based life insurance company EquiTrust, which “makes up the largest portion of Johnson’s personal net worth—since the purchase, the Iowa-based company’s assets have skyrocketed from $16 billion to $26 billion, with annual revenues of roughly $2.6 billion,” per Forbes.com.
Following the 1990-1991 NBA season, Johnson tested positive for HIV, which prompted him to announce his retirement and become an advocate for HIV prevention.
“When Magic Johnson was involved, time and time again people would find a way to talk themselves into a deal.” @MrMattCraig joins @_brittanylewis on “Forbes Talks” to discuss Earvin “Magic” Johnson becoming a billionaire. https://t.co/mQNvz6NmbN pic.twitter.com/LctLmcuB6z
— Forbes (@Forbes) October 30, 2023
According to Forbes, Johnson is the fourth sporting professional to enter the billionaire boys club, following Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods.
His career as an NBA player, which lasted from 1979 to 1996, earned him $40 million, the Independent reports.
When Johnson appeared on the All The Smoke podcast earlier this year, he explained how he could have reached billionaire status sooner had he not turned down shares in Nike back in the day when first entering the NBA.
“My family didn’t come from money, that’s one thing that hurt us sometimes. When you don’t come from money, you don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t even know what stocks [were] at that time.”
“So I passed on the stocks. Can you imagine? 45 years, $5 billion that stock would have been worth today.”
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