The only other basketball player to be worth 10 figures is Michael Jordan, who earned that moniker 11 years after he retired when his stake in the Charlotte Hornets increased to 89.5 percent in 2014.
The total trailed only that of Lionel Messi, who made $130 million, on Forbes' highest-paid athlete's list.
Reaching $1 billion is something James has been thinking about for some time.
While James has earned more than $385 million in pretax salary during his 19-year NBA career, per Forbes, he accrued most of his wealth off the court through some savvy business moves over the past few years. Those investments helped him grow his net worth to the estimated $1 billion thresholds he only recently crossed.
What's even more incredible is James manifested this milestone after saying he wanted to become a billionaire in a 2014 interview with GQ.
Although the Lakers struggled in 2021-22 and James missed the playoffs for just the fourth time in his career, he did become, at 37, the oldest player to average 30 points in a season (30.3 PPG).
Off the court, James starred in "Space Jam: A New Legacy" and, according to Forbes, sold a minority stake in his production company, SpringHill, at a $725 million valuation. SpringHill produced the "Space Jam" sequel, which grossed $163 million worldwide; "The Shop," which moved from HBO to YouTube last year; and a docuseries with tennis star Naomi Osaka. The company is also producing a remake of the 1990 comedy "House Party."
James has made more than $385 million in salary from his 19-year career with the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat.
Forbes' estimates for where James made the rest of his $1 billion:
• The Spring Hill Company: $300 million: A combination of James' Robot Company marketing agency, athlete brand Uninterrupted, and SpringHill Entertainment.
Fenway Sports Group: $90 million: James owns 1 percent of FSG, which itself owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, and Liverpool Football Club. The group also has stakes in Roush Fenway Racing, the New England Sports Network, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Real Estate properties: $80 million: James owns at least three properties – in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Akron, Ohio.
Blaze Pizza: $30 million: James invested $1 million for a 10 percent stake in 2012 before the company grew to more than 300 stores in the United States and Canada. He also personally owned 18 franchise stores in Florida and Illinois.
Miscellaneous investments: $500 million: Forbes estimates James has half a billion in other net assets that include other profitable investments like Beats by Dre, the sports nutrition company Ladder, Tonal, and Lyft.
James' other pursuits
Becoming the first active billionaire basketball player isn't the only thing James is trying to accomplish in his life. He opened up an elementary school – I Promise – in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, through his LeBron James Family Foundation in 2018, and acted in multiple movies – one of which, Space Jam 2, was produced by his and Maverick Carter's production company, This includes proceeds from major scores, like the $3 billion sales of Beats by Dre to Apple in 2014 (James was a spokesperson and owned a small sliver) and shares of publicly-traded fitness company Beachbody, which acquired Ladder, the sports nutrition company James co-founded with Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 2020 for $28 million in stock...
While James is now a billionaire, NBA fans won’t be seeing him on the court until the 2022-2023 season after his Lakers squad failed to make the postseason for the second time since he arrived in Los Angeles.
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