LeBron James will not play in the NBA Finals this year, but still won a new title: billionaire.
The 37-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star has officially joined the club with three commas, according to Forbes, after earning another $ 121.2 million last year. He is the first active NBA player in history to reach billionaire status.
The only other NBA star to become a billionaire is Michael Jordan, who did not achieve status until 2014, more than a decade after retiring as a player.
According to Spotrac, James, who has just completed a two-year $ 85 million contract with the Lakers, has earned $ 387 million in his career as a player. Forbes says he has earned an additional $ 900 million in approvals since joining the league in 2003.
James has embarked on a number of lucrative business ventures in his 19-year career. In 2016, he signed a lifetime deal with Nike, which is said to cost more than $ 1 billion in itself, although the figure was never confirmed by James. He also has a stake in production company SpringHill worth $ 300 million, according to Forbes.
In addition, James has partnerships with chains such as Blaze Pizza, where he is an investor and owns a 10% stake, which Forbes estimates at $ 30 million. He is an investor in Fenway Sports Group and saw an unexpected income from the sale of Beats to Apple in 2014, because he owned a small part of the company.
Forbes also estimates that he owns $ 80 million worth of property, including a nearly $ 37 million mansion of 13,000 square feet in Beverly Hills.
Don’t expect James’ net worth to stop growing any time soon. The star has just come out of another season of All Star and is eligible for a two-year $ 97 million extension from the Lakers.
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