Forbes 400: Michael Jordan becomes first billionaire athlete to make the richest-of-the rich list

Not surprisingly, Michael Jordan, the restaurateur, tequila owner, Palm Beach County resident, and, oh yeah, arguably the greatest basketball player ever to walk the earth, is rich.

But now he's very, very rich.

For the first time, Jordan made the Forbes list of the country’s 400 richest people. With an estimated net worth of $3 billion, Jordan is ranked 379th in the most recent list released this week. He becomes the first athlete ever to make the list.

Jordan is a partner at 1000 North, the high-end restaurant on the Jupiter waterfront, and the Cincoro Tequila brand, and lives part of the time in the Jupiter area.

On the court, the legendary No. 23 for the Chicago Bulls won six titles and took home Finals MVP honors all six times. Jordan helped the Bulls win four NBA titles in six years.

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Jordan also is an Olympic gold medalist. He, along with Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) and Magic Johnson (L.A. Lakers) and other superstars earned the nickname the Dream Team during the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain.

According to Forbes, Jordan made $94 million in his 15 NBA seasons. But his endorsements off the court were worth much more. Endorsing such brands as McDonald's, Gatorade and Nike, he earned an estimated $2.4 billion over his career. Forbes reported that his most recent annual royalty check from Nike, which sells his branded Air Jordans, was for about $260 million.

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But while all that cash pushed him past all other U.S. athletes, what got him on Forbes' most recent list, which includes the uber-rich such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, was his co-ownership of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.

Forbes reported that in August, Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte franchise for a $3 billion valuation. It was the second-highest sale price in NBA history and nearly 17 times its value when Jordan became principal owner in 2010, Forbes reported.

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Jordan, LeBron and Tiger are in a very small clique

The prospect of a professional athlete becoming a billionaire is still highly irregular. According to Forbes, only three professional U.S. athletes have ever done it.

Jordan was the first when he achieved it in 2014, and LeBron James and Tiger Woods, a resident of Jupiter Island, not far from Jordan's home, followed, doing so while their careers are still active.

Ironically, while Jordan made the Forbes 400 list as someone who is no longer a sports franchise owner, he now joins the ranks of many other sports team owners.

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Some sports team owners who made the Forbes 400 list

Below are just some sports team owners who made the list:

∎ 34th place: Daniel Gilbert, 61, NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers owner, $21.3 billion

∎ Tied for 45th: Philip Anschutz, 83, majority owner of NHL's Los Angeles Kings; stake in the Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, $14.8 billion

∎ 47th: Stanley Kroenke, 76, Owner of NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Denver Nuggets, NHL's Colorado Avalanche, Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids and the United Kingdom's Arsenal soccer club, $14.6 billion

∎ 48th: Jerry Jones, 80, NFL's Dallas Cowboys owner, $14.2 billion

∎ 62nd: Robert Kraft, 82, NFL's New England Patriots owner, $11.1 billion

∎ Tied for 70th: Stephen Ross, 83, NFL's Miami Dolphins owner, $10.1 billion

∎ Tied for 114th: Tilman Fertitta, 66, NBA's Houston Rockets owner, $7.9 billion

∎ Tied at 140th: Stephen Bisciotti, 63, NFL's Baltimore Ravens owner, $7.2 billion

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Forbes 400: Michael Jordan becomes the first pro athlete to make list