By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
LeBron James has been considered one of the greatest NBA players ever for a while now but he wasn’t only successful in his on-court endeavors. It’s been well-known that LeBron has been building his business empire parallel to his playing career and he’s reached a historic milestone.
Just reaching the billionaire status is huge but James also became the first NBA player in history to reach a net worth of one billion dollars while still being active, according to Forbes.
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.
That same year, LeBron expressed his wish to do the same.
“It’s my 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,” he said in 2014.
Forward to this year, LeBron reached $1.2 billion in pretax earnings. He 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.