Michael Jordan, who has a whopping $3.5 billion net worth, was gifted an iconic card by his NASCAR driver who has more than 34 wins
Michael Jordan is one of the most wealthy people on the planet. The former NBA superstar recently sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets franchise for $3 billion, taking his overall net worth to $3.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. Jordan also has income streams from his Jordan Brand sneaker line and multiple business ventures, including his own NASCAR company called 23XL Racing.
NASCAR is usually a closed circuit in terms of success. Powerhouses such as Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske are usually at the top of the leaderboards. Jordan has found a way to disrupt things in NASCAR and has developed a team of Hall of Fame drivers to help put his company on the map.
Kurt Busch was one of those drivers. The future Hall of Famer joined Jordan's 23XL with 34 wins already under his belt and instantly began to make waves on the circuit. Interestingly, Busch wanted to thank Jordan for the opportunity, so gifted him one of his own sports cards, asking the legendary player to sign it, and hold on to it until Busch was successful with the new brand.
“I called my Vegas guy that’s a huge card collector. I go, ‘Find me an MJ rookie card.’ He goes, ‘Gimme two days,'” Busch said, via MSN. “So I’ve got it now, just in a nice sleeve and couple other envelopes. And I take it to Daytona. Here’s my game plan."
Busch continued:
“I hand (Jordan) this little brown paper bag and he’s like, ‘You don’t have to give me anything.’ He unwraps it, goes through it, looks at it and goes, ‘Damn, you paid a pretty penny for this, didn’t you?’ And I go, ‘I got you something else.’ And I pulled out an autograph pen. One of the blue, primary autograph pens.
“And I said, ‘If you sign that, you keep it. You hold on to it. But when we win together, I got get it back.'”
Busch retired earlier this year, without earning the success to get the card back. However, Jordan's vast wealth means he may have returned the card as a thank you for Busch's hard work before his injury. However, there has been no reporting on this, and Jordan could still be in possession of the rookie card.
Jordan's NASCAR team has one driver in the playoffs
Michael Jordan's 23XL team has made it to the NASCAR playoffs, where Bubba Wallace currently sits ninth in the standings. Bubba Wallace has until the Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 9 to climb out of the "bubble" and into the top eight, otherwise he will be eliminated from the postseason.
Nevertheless, Jordan is overseeing a rapidly growing racing team that is already making their presence felt in the postseason. We shouldn't be surprised, though. Jordan has succeeded in sports his whole life, and NASCAR is just the latest league to feel his presence.