Long after the end of his basketball playing career, Magic Johnson remains a successful businessman.
Throughout his run as a sports executive and president of Magic Johnson Enterprises, Johnson has been guided by one overriding rule: staying away from investment pitches that involve people overly trusting their friends and family.
Johnson first discussed this guiding principle in Pablo Torre’s 2009 Sports Illustrated feature, How [And Why] Athletes Go Broke.
“It won’t even be a conversation,” Johnson said. “They hire these people not because of expertise but because they’re friends. Well, they’ll fail.”
Torre discussed Johnson’s approach in a new episode of his show for the 15th anniversary of the story. After a failed sporting goods store launch in Los Angeles, Johnson has seemingly had the magic touch in the business world.
In October 2023, he became the fourth athlete to reach billionaire status, joining Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tiger Woods. Johnson is worth $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
The legendary Basketball Hall of Famer “built his wealth through joint venture partnerships in everything from movie theaters, Starbucks franchises, real estate and healthcare.”
“The majority of his fortune comes from a 60% ownership stake in life insurance company Equitrust, which has grown from $16 billion in assets under management to $26 billion since he took over in 2015,” Forbes wrote.
Johnson, who earned around $40 million during his NBA playing career, is also a partial owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and MLS’ LAFC.
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