Michael Jordan Net Worth: How He Built His Empire
As somebody who grew up in the 1990s, Michael Jordan was arguably the most well-known sports star on the planet. While many in the US would agree with this, Jordan’s appeal was international, which is a rarity in American sports. Starring in films like Space Jam helped showcase just how marketable he was to audiences outside the basketball world.
The only other name that stands out as an internationally renowned name from the NBA since is LeBron James. That’s not to downplay the quality of the players or their star appeal; it just shows how much Michael Jordan impacted the game and how his presence is still felt in the NBA. His net worth is an extension of this. So, how did MJ go from NBA great to an icon of American basketball to basketball’s first billionaire? Let’s take a look.
A Passion For Competition
An athlete’s marketability is the foundation of their wealth, especially post-retirement. Many investors and business leaders want to network with athletes who have visibility, are recognizable beyond their field, and have the character and marketability to help them sell their ideas.
Elite athletes have one thing in common: they will do everything it takes to get the win. Jordan’s thirst for competition is notorious, and not only did it follow him around on the basketball court, but it also summed up how he operated off the court, too.
Jordan was renowned for constantly cultivating competition with his teammates, goading them into making bets with him on all sorts of competitions. His love for poker is one of his most noted hobbies. Given his ruthlessness in competition and the bankroll that he’s operating with, it’d take a brave person to sit at the poker table with Jordan.
While having a few games of Texas Holdem isn’t the source of his wealth by any stretch of the imagination, knowing how to play Texas Holdem and other poker variants seems to be a prerequisite for those players who wanted to share the dressing room with MJ in the 1990s.
Jordan & Nike
Business analysts and experts passionate about sports branding and partnerships will be the first to tell you how Michael Jordan and Nike completely reshaped the world of professional athlete endorsements.
Just looking at the yield and the return for Nike and MJ – the partnership is the most lucrative contract ever constructed between a brand and an athlete. Nearly 40 years later, two decades after Jordan’s retirement, he still rakes in over $100 million per year from sales alone.
While it’s just one of several factors contributing to his billionaire status, Jordan’s working relationship with Nike is important because it’s still ongoing. It’s an example of how backing the right athlete for an endorsement can do huge things for a company, even one the size of Nike.
Other Notable Business Ventures
It’d be naive to think that all of Jordan’s business ventures have been solely his ideas. He has surrounded himself with a team of business experts who collate some of the best investment opportunities and advise him accordingly. Jordan’s openness to investing in new ideas is, again, another reason why his portfolio is so varied and equally pioneering.
Jordan has invested in several businesses that are reshaping the sporting landscape. His seven-figure investment in virtual sports is one example of how he’s willing to put his money into new projects, given how the rise of Jann Mardenborough from virtual sports to professional racing has shown that there’s an avenue for it to become a filter lane for those looking to move into professional sports. Other investments of his include:
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Video games
• Car dealerships
• Motorsports teams
• Tequila
Jordan invested $275 million in the Charlotte Hornets in 2010, becoming a majority owner. Just over a decade later, he sold his share in the company, valued at around $3 billion—not a bad return.
Final Thoughts
Some pessimists might argue that Michael Jordan became such a larger-than-life figure in US culture during the 1990s that any investment he made would have a solid chance of succeeding purely because of his brand’s popularity.
There is an element of truth to this. Air Jordan flew off the shelves in the 1990s because Jordan was the face of the NBA, a proven winner repeatedly; his brand exuded this, and business leaders were more than happy to bet big on the man who seemingly never lost.
Following a resurgence in his notoriety, thanks to The Last Dance on Netflix, which introduced him to a far larger international audience who weren’t around in the 1990s, it feels like Jordan’s empire will continue to grow. While some of his ideas might not be big winners, there are enough that help him continue adding to his estimated $3.5 billion net worth.
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