Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James may be the most hyped athlete of all time, with bigger expectations than any other athlete to ever enter American professional sports.
James has lived up to that hype. He’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is a 4-time MVP, 22-time All-Star, 4-time NBA Champion, and 4-time Finals MVP. He’s even been able to become teammates with his son, Bronny James.
James has also used his athletic talent and success to build an empire off the court.
LeBron James Is One of Forbes’ Top 5 Greatest Self-Made Americans
James has achieved remarkable success, both on and off the court. Before ever stepping onto an NBA court, he signed a gigantic deal with Nike.
However, no one expected James to achieve the financial success he has. As a result, Forbes named him one of the Top 5 Greatest Self-Made Americans.
Forbes said James has “earned upwards of $500 million in pretax salary from stints with the Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers.”
Forbes listed several reasons for James’s high ranking:
- “LeBron James is the first active NBA player to become a billionaire.
- Born to a 16-year-old single mother, he lived with an assortment of family members, friends, and neighbors, plus his youth football coach, before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
- He has raked in more than $1 billion (pretax) off the court, according to Forbes estimates, from his business ventures and endorsement deals with brands including Nike.
- Key to his billionaire status: James has been more than a pitchman, taking equity in brands he works with, including Beats by Dre.
- His LeBron James Family Foundation opened its first elementary school in 2018 and has pledged to spend more than $40 million to send kids to college.”
The only people to rank above James are:
- Former talk-show host Oprah Winfrey
- Fracking and oil pioneer Harold Hamm
- IT Service tycoon David Steward
- Automated digital trading pioneer Thomas Peterffy
That’s a successful company for James. The next highest athlete on the list is another Lakers player, Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson, who has been extremely successful in life after basketball. Johnson has been involved in team ownership, which includes owning a piece of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the 2020, 2024, and 2025 World Series under Johnson’s watch.
Similarly, James has also expressed an interest in ownership upon his eventual retirement.
At 41, James is nearing the end of his career, and there is speculation he could leave Los Angeles after this season, with a second return to Cleveland potentially looming. While James isn’t what he once was, he remains productive, still averaging 20.8 points, 7.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 51.2% from the field.
The Lakers are currently 50-29, tied with the Houston Rockets for fourth in the Western Conference.
With injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, James needs to resemble his old self if the Lakers want to keep home court in the first round.
