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NBA superstar LeBron James has hit a historic milestone to the tune of ten figures.
According to Forbes, James, 37, is officially a billionaire. The Lakers star is the only active NBA player to ever make the Forbes billionaire list — an accomplishment not even Michael Jordan was able to hit until 2014 when he had already left the league.
Forbes estimated James' billionaire status by combining his salary as the highest-paid player in the NBA, the $900 million he's racked in from business endorsements and deals, as well as the $121.2 million he earned just in the last year.
In a 2014 GQ interview, the 18-time NBA All-Star foreshadowed making the Forbes list.
"It’s my biggest milestone,” James said in 2014. “Obviously. I want to maximize my business. And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited."
James started as the "kid from Akron" jumping from home to home before he became one of the biggest high school basketball recruits of all time. At 18, his earning potential began when he signed a deal with Nike, a company that he now has a lifetime agreement with and pays him tens of millions every year.
Forbes reports that James' billionaire dollar net worth is akin to business skills. The four-time NBA champ has structured his deals to give him equity in brands he partners with, which gives him a big return in the long run.
James is an investor in the fast-growing Blaze Pizza Chain and has equity in Tonal and Lyft. He and his business partner Maverick Carter built the $300 million production company Spring Hill from the ground up, which helped produced the box office hit Space Jam: A New Legacy and HBO Documentary What's My Name: Muhammad Ali.
The two-time Olympian's three real estate properties total a whopping $80 million, according to Forbes. James' part-time ownership in Fenway Sports Group is also said to be worth $90 million.
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