- 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 $2 billion.
- Since he retired in 2003, he has built a lucrative career and uses his wealth for philanthropic purposes.
- He also indulges: He has a secret golf course, sprawling estates, an NBA team, restaurants, interest in DraftKings, and even a $3 million car.
Michael Jordan was already a billionaire, and now he just added to his fortune.
The NBA announced that Jordan was selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion. Not bad for the $275 million investment he initially made when he bought the club in 2010.
Jordan will keep a minority stake in the franchise.
Before the sale, Jordan was already living the high life. Below we take a look at how he has amassed his fortune and what he spends it on.
Jordan has an estimated net worth of $2 billion.
Since Jordan retired 15 years ago, he has built the most successful and lucrative career we’ve ever seen from a former athlete.
He made less than $100 million as the NBA’s greatest player of all time, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a billionaire with an estimated net worth of $2 billion.
Jordan was the world’s first athlete billionaire.
Source: Forbes
According to Forbes, Jordan’s yearly earnings were roughly $145 million.
Source: Forbes
As of 2015, he was reportedly making $100 million a year from Nike and Jordan Brand royalties alone.
Source: Business Insider
For comparison, LeBron James was estimated to earn less than $90 million a year from salary, winnings, and endorsements.
Source: Forbes
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
And MJ’s 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
The popularity of Air Jordans has resurged in recent years thanks to celebrity partnerships to connect to a younger audience and new versions of retro styles to reconnect to the older fans.
Source: Business Insider
Nike’s Jordan Brand has even partnered with the popular video game ‘Fortnite.’
Source: Business Insider
Jordan became a billionaire in 2014 when the Charlotte Hornets’ franchise value rose.
Jordan purchased the club for $275 million and he reportedly owned a 97% of the team. He did sell a minority stake in 2019 before selling most of his remaining ownership for $3 billion.
Source: Business Insider, 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
MJ built his own golf course in 2019.
Grove XXIII — keeping with his obsession with the No. 23 — opened in the fall of 2019 in Hobe Sound, Florida.
Jordan loves to golf, and his course has quite the nickname. 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, especially when playing for money against pro golfers.
Source: Insider
The course has lavish amenities, including a drone delivery service that brings beer and other refreshments to the club’s exclusive members.
Source: Insider
Jordan donated $2 million of his earnings from his 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.
Source: NBC News, Variety
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
In March, Jordan was part of a $305 million investment in Dapper Labs, the startup behind virtual trading-card platform NBA Top Shot.
Other investors included Will Smith, Kevin Durant, and 2 Chainz.
Source: Insider
DraftKings announced in 2021 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
He 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 about 30 years.
Source: Business Insider
He once rejected a huge endorsement deal with Beanee Weenees because he didn’t like the name.
Jordan said he has always been picky about his endorsements because he wanted to be genuine and also build his own brand.
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
He owns several restaurants including 1000 North in Jupiter, Florida …
Source: Business Insider, Eater
… Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, with 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
In 2019, Jordan and a team of four others created Cincoro tequila.
Jordan is one of many celebrities to start a tequila business. His brand had a co-starring role in his “The Last Dance” docuseries as it was often by his side during the on-camera interviews.
Source: Insider
He also owns a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina.
Source: Business Insider, Michael Jordan Nissan
In 2019, many billionaires lost money — but not Jordan. His net worth rose by $300 million.
Source: Forbes
He has a private jet. It’s painted Carolina blue, and the ID number contains his jersey number (23) and number of titles (6).
Source: Business Insider