16 Richest Athletes In Sports
6. Magic Johnson – $500 million
A local sportswriter coined the nickname “Magic” when at the age of 15 he scored a triple double with 36 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists.
The name was solidified his senior year when he led his team to the state championship.
Johnson had offers from every single high profile college but decided to stay close to home and attend Michigan State University. In 1979, Magic led his team to the NCAA finals where they faced Indiana State University and their star player Larry Bird.
Their face-off became the most watched college basketball game ever televised and launched one of the greatest rivalries in sports history. Michigan went on to defeat Indiana and Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
Magic was the first overall pick of 1979 draft, chosen by The Los Angeles Lakers. In his rookie season, Magic and teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led The Lakers to the NBA championship where Magic was named the MVP of the NBA Finals.
Johnson would go on to win four more championships for The Lakers, three MVP awards, 12 all star appearances and more. He is considered the greatest point guard of all time. Magic’s career was cut short by his 1991 contraction of the HIV virus. He made a handful of re-appearances in the league but retired once and for all in 1996.
And it has not been a quiet retirement. During his playing career, Magic earned just over $18 million in salary and several million more in endorsements. In retirement he used that money to launch a business empire called Magic Johnson Enterprises that is valued at over $1 billion today and has given Magic a personal net worth of $500 million.
Magic Johnson Enterprises owns Magic Johnson Theaters, a movie studio and a promotional marketing company. In 1994 Magic paid $10 million to buy 4.5% of The Lakers which he sold in 2010 to billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong for a reported $50-60 million.
In 2010 Johnson also sold his chain of Starbucks for $75 million.
