How did Magic Johnson make his money?
Magic Johnson is arguably the greatest point guard of all time and clearly one of the best players to ever suit up in the NBA. However, Johnson is also proving himself to be an elite businessman as he continues to amass incredible wealth in his post-playing career.
The former Los Angeles Lakers star reportedly has a net worth of $620 million, which has been accumulated through a number of business and investment ventures, along with his NBA income from his playing days.
Throughout his tenure in the NBA, Johnson amassed $40 million, courtesy of a 25-year contract he signed with the Lakers that saw him earning a $1 million salary until 2010 — 13 years after he called time on his career.
However, it was Johnson's deal with Starbucks that he believes set him on the path for a post-playing career in the investment world. Johnson struck a deal to help bring Starbucks into the inner city, a move which allowed the former Lakers star to prove he could develop businesses inside of urban America.
“It showed everyone that I could drive ROI in urban America,” Johnson said during an appearance on the Kneading Dough podcast “When you think about African Americans now - over $1 trillion spending power—Latinos, over $1 trillion spending power, and moving even higher—there was nobody really building businesses and going after their disposable income. So my company was able to provide jobs and access to these retailers who were not coming in before, but now they hit a home run when we partnered and they came into the inner city.”
Johnson also runs 'Magic Johnson Enterprises,' an investment company that boasts a reported $1 billion in holdings, spanning multiple industries.
Magic Johnson also owns multiple LA-based sports teams
Despite Magic Johnson's incredible success in the investment world, he has remained true to his status as a global sports star and invested in multiple sports teams —most of which are based in the city of Los Angeles.
Johnson has been part of investment teams that have purchased the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, and the LAFC MLS team.
In early 2023, Magic Johnson ventured into the NFL, too, becoming part-owner of the Washington Commanders — the first non-LA-based team in his portfolio of sports franchises.