Source: Bernard ‘Beanz’ Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz83
Earvin “Magic” Johnson has become the newest member of the very exclusive billionaire athletes club. The Los Angeles Lakers legend, considered the greatest point guard ever, joins Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tiger Woods as the only athletes who have climbed their way to this enviable financial plateau. According to Forbes magazine, Johnson’s vast empire crossed the billion-dollar threshold when he acquired a piece of the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023. Johnson, 64, also owns shares in a trio of Los Angeles sports franchises including the Dodgers of Major League Baseball, the Sparks of the WNBA and the LAFC [Los Angeles Football Club] of Major League Soccer.
The publication lists Johnson’s net worth at $1.2 billion as a result of his investment portfolio which includes sports and a plethora of other industries. However, the bulk of Johnson’s wealth emanates from the 60 percent stake he owns in EquiTrust, an Iowa-based life insurance company.
After purchasing a majority share in EquiTrust in 2015, Forbes notes that the company’s bottom line rocketed from $16 billion to $26 billion.
And there is, of course, the plethora of businesses and franchises that Johnson strategically placed in underrepresented communities across the country over the years. Johnson became renowned for deliberately launching a chain of movie theaters, in conjunction with Leows, in marquee cities such as Atlanta, New York, Houston and Los Angeles that served Black Americans. He did the same with dozens of Starbucks stores before he later divested and moved into other industries.
