Michael Jordan Becomes First Athlete To Make Forbes List Of 400 Wealthiest Americans w/$ 3 Billion Net Worth

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan Becomes First Athlete To Make Forbes List Of 400 Wealthiest Americans w/$ 3 Billion Net Worth

NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is balling in more ways than one.

The basketball star just crossed a major wealth threshold, earning a spot on the Forbes list of the top 400 richest Americans, and he’s the first athlete to ever do so.

Reportedly, Michael Jordan was able to achieve the feat after selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets earlier this year. The 60-year-old purchased the basketball team back in 2010 for $175 million and sold it in June of this year for $3 billion, according to reports.

It seems the strategic business move proved to be very lucrative, enabling the sports champion to join the richest citizens in the country.

Jordan earned the 379th spot on the list and is the only sports professional present. However, WWE founder Vince McMahon is just a few names above the former Chicago Bulls star. In addition to his sale of the Hornets, Jordan amassed quite a fortune from high-paying NBA contracts during his time playing professionally in the league. He also scored big-budget sponsorships from companies like McDonald’s, Hanes, and Gatorade. It’s estimated that over the span of his career, the athlete earned around $2.4 billion in pre-tax money just from brand deals alone.

Michael Jordan

Not to mention his popular sneaker line Air Jordans, which the NBA legend released with Nike, continues to be a cultural phenomenon and earns him hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Nike stated in their last annual report that the shoe brand sees $6.6 billion in annual wholesale revenue. As we reported back in June, a single pair of Jordan’s personal shoes from 1997 that he famously wore while battling sickness during a finals game sold for over a million dollars.

According to Forbes, Jordan’s net worth is estimated at $3 billion and is only expected to rise. It’s noted that he still does have a small ownership stake in the Hornets but has since taken on other business ventures. Additionally, Jordan has taken up an interest in NASCAR and co-founded Cup Series team 23XI, which has popular driver Bubba Wallace on its roaster.

It doesn’t seem the sports star has commented on the Forbes honor at this time.

[VIA 1,2]

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