Michael Jordan was the first athlete-billionaire — here's how he makes and spends his millions
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Michael Jordan is considered the greatest NBA player of all time.
He's also the richest former professional athlete in the world, with a net worth of $1.7 billion.
Since retiring as NBA player for good in 2003, he has built a lucrative career in business and as a team owner and uses his wealth for philanthropic purposes.
He also indulges: He has a secret golf course, sprawling estates, an NBA team, restaurants, and interest in DraftKings.
Michael Jordan made less than $100 million in NBA contracts as the league's greatest player of all time, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming a billionaire with an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Source: Forbes
Jordan loves to golf, and in 2021, the nickname of his exclusive golf course, Grove XXIII, surfaced. Called "Slaughterhouse 23," it earned the name since it was designed by Jordan, for Jordan, and aimed at maximizing Jordan's style of play against his opponents.
Source: Insider
The Florida course has lavish amenities, including a drone delivery service that brings beer and other refreshments to the club's exclusive members.
Source: Insider
In March 2021, Jordan was part of a $305 million investment in Dapper Labs, the startup behind the virtual trading card platform NBA Top Shot. Other investors included Will Smith, Kevin Durant, and 2 Chainz.
The blockchain-based NFT company has since fallen on hard times as the broader crypto markets have cratered and is reportedly laying off 22% of its staff, according to Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou.
Source: Insider
Jordan also donated $2 million of his earnings from his 2020 docuseries "The Last Dance" to Feeding America's food banks in Chicago and the Carolinas. "In these challenging times and in a year of unimaginable difficulty due to COVID-19, it's more important than ever to pause and give thanks," he said in a statement.
MJ reportedly made $4 million from the series and donated all of it to charities.
Source: Nathan Baugh
In 2020, Jordan and Nike's Jordan Brand pledged to donate $100 million over 10 years to organizations fighting for 'racial quality, social justice, and greater access to education.' The June announcement came amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests over the killing of George Floyd.
Source: Insider
DraftKings announced in September 2020 that Jordan took an equity stake in the sports betting company, along with a special adviser role. The company's shares surged 12% immediately following the announcement.
Source: Business Insider
The money moves come as no surprise as his income now is way more than his total playing salary during his career. He earned $90 million total in NBA salary, and about $63 million of that came in his final two seasons with the Chicago Bulls.
Source: Forbes, Spotrac, Basketball-Reference
His $1.7 billion net worth is due, in large part, to the value of his NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets ...
Source: Money
... and the Jordan Brand. He was reportedly still making $100 million annually from Nike royalties alone in recent years.
Source: Business Insider
Nike founder Phil Knight called signing Jordan the best decision he ever made, nabbing the NBA rookie for $250,000 a year in 1984.
Source: Business Insider
Jordan reportedly wanted to sign with Adidas in 1984, but they passed because they preferred NBA players who were 7 feet tall.
Source: Business Insider
Nike's Jordan Brand alone now brings in roughly $3.6 billion in revenue each year.
Source: Forbes, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times
The popularity of Air Jordans has seen a resurgence in recent years, thanks to celebrity partnerships to connect to a younger audience and new versions of retro styles to reconnect to older fans.
Source: Business Insider
Nike's Jordan Brand has even partnered with the popular video game 'Fortnite.'
Source: Business Insider
Jordan bought the Charlotte Hornets in 2010 for $175 million ...
Source: Forbes, Business Insider
... and he officially became a billionaire in 2014, when the NBA franchise value rose. The team is now worth more than $1.7 billion, and he owns 97% of the equity in the club.
Source: Business Insider; Forbes
Jordan did sell a minority stake in the club in 2019, but he reportedly has no interest in giving up control of the team.
Source: Charlotte Observer
Jordan is still waiting for the day the Hornets win a championship. He has said that winning a championship as an owner would be more gratifying than any of the six rings he won as a player.
Source: Business Insider
According to Forbes, Jordan's yearly earnings were roughly $145 million.
Source: Forbes
For comparison, LeBron James was estimated to earn less than $90 million a year from salary, winnings, and endorsements.
Source: Forbes
Nowadays, he still has several endorsement deals with companies like Gatorade ...
Source: Business Insider
... trading card company Upper Deck ...
Source: Business Insider
... and Hanes. He's been a spokesman for the company for nearly 30 years.
Source: Business Insider
Jordan said he has always been picky about his endorsements because he wanted to be genuine and also build his own brand. He once rejected a huge endorsement deal with Beanee Weenee because he didn't like the name.
Source: Playboy
Jordan told Playboy, 'How can I stand in front of a camera and say I'll eat Beanee Weenees?' He said the deal was close to $1 million per year — at the time, he had made less than $5 million in career earnings.
Source: Playboy
Jordan owns several restaurants, including 1000 North in Jupiter, Florida ...
Source: Business Insider, Eater
... Michael Jordan's Steakhouse, which has locations in Connecticut, Washington, and Chicago ...
Source: Michael Jordan's Steakhouse
... and Michael Jordan's Restaurant in Chicago, an upscale restaurant serving 'elevated American classics.'
Source: Michael Jordan's Restaurant
Jordan also is one of many celebrities to start a tequila business. In 2019, Jordan and a team of four others created Cincoro tequila.
Source: Insider
He also owns a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina.
Source: Business Insider, Michael Jordan Nissan
Jordan's steady stream of income lets him live a pretty amazing lifestyle.
He has a private jet that's painted Carolina blue, and whose ID number contains his jersey number (23) and number of titles he won (6).
Source: Business Insider
He spent $12.8 million building his dream house in Florida in 2012.
Source: Yahoo, Business Insider
He also has a $2.8 million house near Charlotte.
Source: Business Insider
It has some incredible lake views.
Source: Business Insider
He's selling his compound in Chicago, which was originally listed for $29 million. The estate's gate is emblazoned with his jersey number.
But 10 years later, the house is still on the market and the price is down to $14.9 million.
Source: Business Insider, Zillow
It is estimated that Jordan has paid more than $680,000 in property taxes since he put the house up for sale.
Source: Business Insider
Luxury real estate brokers think the amount of customization the house has undergone in order to become Jordan's personal palace is one of a few reasons why the property hasn't sold yet.
Source: Business Insider
They also list the mismatch of location and price as a possible reason — homes in the Highland Park area have a median value of $476,391. Homes at the price point Jordan is listing are typically located closer to Lake Michigan.
Source: Business Insider, Zillow
In 2016, Jordan won a case against a Chinese sportswear company that was using his Chinese name.
Source: Business Insider
The company had been using a logo similar to Jordan's Air Jordan logo, and the symbols used spell out his name in Chinese — Qiaodan Sports. He first sued the company in 2012, but lower-level courts ruled in favor of the company.
Source: Business Insider
That's, however, not the only lawsuit he's been involved in that pertained to his name and branding. Two supermarkets, Dominick's and Jewel-Osco, associated themselves with Jordan without his permission. Jordan sued and won millions. But he didn't keep all the money.
Source: Business Insider
Instead, he donated millions to 23 charities benefiting the children of Chicago.
Source: Business Insider
In 2016, Jordan also pledged two large donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the International Association of Chiefs of Police's new Institute for Community-Police Relations. This came after a string of police-involved shootings.
Source: Business Insider
In 2018, he donated $2 million to Hurricane Florence relief efforts.
Source: Chicago Tribune
In 2019, he pledged $7 million to open two medical clinics in Charlotte.
Source: Business Insider
Jordan's recent endeavor is his own private golf course, Grove XXIII — keeping with his obsession with the No. 23. It opened in the fall of 2019 in Hobe Sound, Florida.
Source: Golf Digest
Jordan even has a custom, Carolina-blue golf cart with the Jumpman logo.
Source: Business Insider
In the same year, Jordan teamed up with driver Denny Hamlin to become a NASCAR Cup Series team co-owner. Together, they formed 23XI racing, and Bubba Wallace was their first driver. They added a second car in 2022.
Jordan has three children from his first marriage with Juanita Vanoy.
Source: Biography
The pair married in 1989 and divorced in 2006. The 17-year marriage cost Jordan a whopping $168 million in the settlement.
Source: Biography, NBC Chicago
Jordan's three oldest children have all followed their father into the shoe business. Jeffrey, the oldest, works at Nike in Oregon, and Jasmine, the youngest, has worked for her father's NBA team, as well as being an Air Jordan representative in Charlotte.
Source: Business Insider
Marcus, Jordan's second child, opened a boutique sneaker shop in Disney World, called Trophy Room, inspired by the trophy room in his house growing up.
Source: Business Insider, Bleacher Report
Jordan married Yvette Prieto in 2013, and they welcomed twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel, in 2014.
Source: USA Today
Jordan has invested some of his fortune in tech startups. He was reportedly one of several celebrities who invested heavily in Gigster — a Silicon Valley startup connecting companies to freelance software developers, designers, and project managers.
Source: Business Insider, Gigster
He also bought a stake into an MLB team — the Miami Marlins — having been a part of the investment group that included Derek Jeter, woh has since divested.
Source: Business Insider
Jordan is also a famous gambler. Charles Barkley told sports radio personality Dan Patrick that Jordan used to wager hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single hole when he played golf. While others, like Barkley himself, would wager a few hundred dollars.
Source: Business Insider, Dan Patrick Show
He also used to play $100 post-practice shooting games that allegedly ruined Rodney McCray's career. MJ would reportedly taunt McCray by yelling: "You're a loser! You've always been a loser!'
Source: Business Insider
He even took $500 from a fan at a charity golf tournament when the fan said Jordan couldn't land the ball on the green.
Source: deepac66 via YouTube, Golf Digest
And he reportedly cheated in some bets with his teammates to make sure he won. ESPN's Amin Elhassan said Jordan would bet his teammate, Scottie Pippen, on the outcome of mid-game, animated Jumbotron races, even though Jordan already knew which animated character would win.
Source: CBS Sports
He's also competitive at other kinds of games. He reportedly won $500 beating his business manager Estee Portnoy in sudoku.
Source: ESPN
Jordan plays a lot of golf. But, as Barkley put it, what's the point in playing the sport if not for some cash?
Source: Dan Patrick Show
He started playing the game while at UNC in a threesome with his then-roommate, golfer Davis Love III.
Source: Business Insider
Jordan reportedly never travels overseas without a security team, which sets him back a cool $1,000 to $1,500 per hour. His codename is reportedly 'Yahweh,' a Hebrew word for God.
Other travel setbacks include this 154-foot rented mega yacht named Mr. Terrible.
Source: Business Insider, ESPN
The yacht is complete with its own branding.
Source: LaserAdvertising
The very first cars Jordan bought after he received his reported $10 million signing bonus from the Chicago Bulls were a collection of Mercedes and Pontiacs. He bought seven cars at once for himself and his family members.
Source: D Magazine
Since his rise to fame, he's been spotted in all kinds of cars, from Ferraris to Land Rovers.
Source: Cheat Sheet
Jordan is well known for his love of cigars and told Cigar Aficionado magazine that he smokes six a day.
Source: Cigar Aficionado
At age 59, he still works out. In 2013, he declared he was going to get down to his playing weight of 218 pounds — it is unknown if he reached the goal.
Source: ESPN
His post-basketball career is already influencing the next generation. Several current and former players have expressed interest in buying NBA teams, including LeBron James, who wants to own an expansion franchise in Las Vegas.
Source: Fastbreak
In addition to winning six NBA championships, Jordan has won other prestigious awards. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom because, as Obama joked, Jordan is 'more than just an Internet meme.'
Source: Sports Illustrated
Jordan has been been a preferred meme for years — many still post this photo of Jordan crying during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech all over social media.
Source: Know Your Meme
Now take a tour of the mansion MJ can't sell.
Read the original article on Insider
