How billionaire basketballer Michael Jordan just keeps getting richer

afr.com:

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. And the richest.

The National Basketball Association legend’s sale of his stake in the Charlotte Hornets this month cemented his net worth at an estimated $US3.5 billion ($5.5 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is calculating his fortune for the first time.

Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles and won five MVP awards, is a cultural icon whose likeness, from his silhouette on shoes to his smiling face on $US100 collectible Wheaties boxes, is ubiquitous. The hall-of-fame player became the league’s second Black majority owner in 2010 when he bought a controlling stake in the Hornets, then called the Bobcats. But it was a licensing agreement with Nike in the 1980s, when Jordan was still relatively unknown, that formed the foundation of his trailblazing fortune.

Nike’s partnership with basketball legend Michael Jordan made the shoe company a household name. AP

The sale of Jordan’s Hornets stake follows a standout 2022 for sports team transactions and affirms the NBA’s status among the world’s most profitable leagues. Its franchises have soared in value in recent years as billionaires have used their vast wealth to become owners. Mat Ishbia, who founded wholesale mortgage lender UWM Holdings, agreed last year to buy more than 50 per cent of the Phoenix Suns in a record deal that valued the club at $US4 billion.

Jordan sold his ownership in the Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin, founder of Melvin Capital Management, and Rick Schnall, co-president of private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. As part of the $US3 billion deal, Jordan retains an undisclosed minority stake, according to the team. Bloomberg’s estimate