When Shaquille O'Neal spent $70k in one Walmart outing to convert his 5-bedroom penthouse into a ‘home’
NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal has become quite the investor since retiring. With the help of his accountant Lester, O'Neal's net worth is estimated at around $400 million. From car washes and coin-operated laundry machines to restaurants, "Big Diesel" has created quite the empire for himself.
From a fleet of exotic cars and luxury estates, Shaquille O'Neal is living lavishly. At the same time, the Lakers legend has proven time and time again that he's willing to go above and beyond to help others.
On a recent podcast, O'Neal discussed an instance when he spent $70,000 at Walmart. This happened when Shaq was traded from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns.
"When I arrived in Phoenix, I didn't have a place to stay but I saw this old five-bedroom penthouse, and the guy was like 'well I don't really want to rent it out if I did rent it out you'd have to pay a year upfront' I was like 'no problem'. So I paid the year and it was nice and big, well the first thing I had to get was about ten TVs," O'Neal said.
You can see the interview below, with the conversation about his Walmart purchase beginning around the 13:40 mark.
How did seven-foot-one Shaquille O'Neal manage without a bed?
Given that O'Neal is seven-foot-one, it's not like he could just sleep on the couch like an ordinary person. Although he bought many things from Walmart, O'Neal had to wait for a bed to arrive. In the meantime, he had to sleep on several air mattresses.
"I gotta get pots and pans, and knives and sheets and towels and accessories and a desk for the laptop and furniture and all that stuff. So basically it was just everything to make the apartment look okay. When I arrived the apartment was empty they didn't even have a bed so I had to buy like five of those little blow up beds."
Shaquille O'Neal only spent two seasons in Phoenix from 2007 to 2009, where he averaged a career-high field goal percentage of 60.9%.
Although he wasn't as dominant as he was during the early stages of his career, he did have his last career 40-point game during his time with the team. The game came shortly after the start of the new year on February 27, 2009 against the Toronto Raptors.
Another memorable game for Shaq in Phoenix was when he and Kobe Bryant battled it out just weeks after he put up 40 points. Shaquille O'Neal scored 33 while Kobe Bryant had 49. You can see some highlights from the game in the video below.