Forbes: James Lebron officially a billionaire

LA Lakers star player James Lebron joins the league of the world’s billionaires. According to Forbes, he was the first active NBA player ever to hit the milestone of becoming a billionaire. After another massive year with earnings summing up to $121.2 million last year, Forbes has now officially declared Lebron James a billionaire.

Another NBA legend who is in the billionaire’s club is Michael Jordan. On a side note, Michael Jordan is the other basketball player on Forbes’ list of billionaires. However, he didn’t achieve that stature until 2014, a decade after his retirement. When his shares at the Charlotte Hornets soared to 89.5 percent, Jordan’s assets multiplied too, making him a billionaire.

Lebron James has generated more than $1.2 billion in his pre-tax earnings. According to Forbes, James has “maximized his business.” In the past 19 years of his NBA career, James’ NBA salary from different teams totaled $383 million. Forbes said the NBA star also has “ranked in upwards of $900 million in income from endorsements and other business ventures.”

LeBron James is now the first active NBA athlete to become a billionaire, joining Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who did so after retirement 💰

(via @forbes) pic.twitter.com/l319m4W6Uy

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 2, 2022

The 37-year-old NBA superstar now has a net worth of $1 billion to Forbes’ record. Alongside James’ earnings from his endorsements with PepsiCo, AT&T, Nike, and Walmart, he had also set the proper business structure with these brands. Forbes said that he added equity on those brands other than just getting a quick paycheck. James gets a cut of the upside.

In addition, the 2-time Olympic gold medalist also has other investments. He has shares with ride-sharing company Lyft, fitness startup Tonal, and food upstart Blaze Pizza.

Another fruitful investment of James is a movie and TV studio, SpringHill Entertainment. Forbes value this at approximately $300 million. In addition, this movie studio is also the one that helped produce “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” James is the main star in this movie, and it earned $163 million at the box office worldwide.

LeBron becomes the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list 💰

(via @Forbes) pic.twitter.com/AYJ9x6QqjC

— ESPN (@espn) June 2, 2022

Before reaching his billionaire status, Lebron James looked forward to becoming one of the richest. In a 2014 interview, he told GQ, “It’s my biggest milestone. I want to maximize my business, And if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hop, hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited.”

Although becoming a billionaire isn’t James’ only goal. He also opened up I Promise, an elementary school in his hometown Akron, Ohio. It was built up through his Lebrun James Family Foundation in 2018.

Born and raised by a struggling 16-year-old single mom, Lebron James had a rough start. He experienced living family members, friends, and neighbors of all sorts. Through this, he got up on his feet when he started playing basketball. When he was already on the NBA courts, he never stopped at that as he acquired most of his wealth by dealing with some savvy business strategies. These investments helped his net worth grow to its billion-dollar threshold.