How many businesses does LeBron James own? While the exact number is not publicly known he has over 10 businesses and invests money in different ventures.

We all know by now that LeBron James is much more than just a basketball player. Being on top of the game for the past decade and a half, the King from Akron has built his empire much wider than just on the basketball court.

Just like Michael Jordan, his name is much more than a name of an athlete, it is a global brand that can sell anything and can sell it well. In a nutshell, he’s truly one of the greatest basketball players of all time — as well as one of the wisest investors off the court.

According to Forbes, LeBron James’ estimated net worth is around $850 million.

LeBron is listed at No. 5 on the world’s highest-paid athletes and No. 39 on the Forbes list of the world’s richest entrepreneurs.

What’s more, James has the NBA’s top endorsement portfolio, and one of the most impressive year-over-year salaries in the league. And this is without saying anything on his various sponsorships, endorsements, and other streams of income. The Bron Reign seems to just be getting started — so it’s no wonder that the man has a nearly cult-like following.

According to Forbes, LeBron James has a wide variety of endorsements and sponsorships that put a handsome paycheck in his bank account. AT&T, 2K Sports, Beats Electronics, Calm, GMC, Nike, PepsiCo, RIMOWA and Walmart are just a few of the many companies that give Bron a check.

NIKE LIFETIME DEAL

LeBron James’s Nike deal is one of the highest paying deals in the world of sport. In 2003 he made the choice of leaving a $115 million Reebok deal.

Young Lebron James was the number 1 draft pick in 2003, picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers and he hasn’t looked back ever since. James shot to fame even before coming into the NBA, as he had massive crowds coming in for his high school games and was also on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The shoe giants of the World wanted a piece of the next big thing in the NBA. They were ready to splash the dollars and James had a tough little choice to make.

Adidas, Reebok, and Nike pitched their plan to LeBron and after several meetings, LeBron decided to go with Nike.

Adidas pitched an amount of $60 million, whereas Nike offered him $87 million. Reebok offered $115 million which was $28 million more than what Nike was offering.

LeBron, however, went ahead with the Nike deal, with perhaps, Michael Jordan’s legacy having played a role there.

And in hindsight, the choice was a brilliant one, as currently, LeBron is on a lifetime contract with Nike. He could end up earning in excess of $1 billion by the time he is 64.

UNINTERRUPTED

LeBron James recently invested in a new media company called “Uninterrupted” with his partner Maverick Carter. “Uninterrupted” came about after Fox News commentators snarked that James should just “shut up and dribble” instead of sharing his political views.

The company is built upon the radical idea that all athletes should have a platform to express themselves without intermediaries. From that premise, the company’s mission was born – to empower athletes from all walks of life to communicate in an unimpeded way and to be More Than an Athlete. “Uninterrupted” is upending the world of sports media by working with athletes to tell unique, human stories from their point of view. Through content, merchandise, events, partnerships, and educational opportunities, “Uninterrupted” is changing the way athletes engage with the public and empowering them to be known and valued for more than the sport they play.

LADDER

In 2018, James teamed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cindy Crawford, and Lindsey Vonn to co-found Ladder, a health and wellness company.

During Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals, LeBron James experienced muscle cramps in one of the biggest moments of his career. Dedicated to never having his body fail him again, LeBron partnered with his long-time trainer Mike Mancias to retool his nutrition and fitness regimen with a focus on supplements to fit his performance needs. After finding a lack of products that were both clean and effective, they decided to make their own.

To formulate a line of clean performance products with the highest standards for quality and safety, they assembled a team of experts. LeBron also consulted with long-time friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had a deep knowledge of the sports nutrition industry, along with its shortcomings. Schwarzenegger championed the need for a certified, trusted line of premium supplements that could not only be used by elite athletes but also be available to the public.

The team spent the next four years developing their foundational supplements, focusing on taste, performance, and quality. Each product is third-party verified with the NSF Certified for Sport seal of approval, which guarantees every ingredient and dose is approved by all major sports governing bodies – free of banned substances and unsafe levels of contaminants.

SPRINGHILL ENTERTAINMENT

LeBron James is the founder of SpringHill Entertainment, which has a wide variety of film and television shows under its belt. The company’s productions have appeared on Netflix, HBO, Disney+, Apple+, CBS, NBC, ABC, and ESPN.

The mission of the company is to empower greatness in every individual, from creators to consumers. We do this by creating the most culturally-inspired brands, entertainment, and products.

Recently, SpringHill announced that they were partnering with Clubhouse to create audio programming that best elevates authentic conversation surrounding big moments in sports and culture.

Building on recent audio award recognitions with “The First One,” “17 Weeks” and “More Than A Vote: Vaccine Special,” a press release revealed that “SpringHill will bring its mission to empower greatness in every individual from creators to fans via a series of rooms under the name “SpringHill Live” on Clubhouse hosted from its newly announced club.”

BLAZE PIZZA

LeBron James invested in Blaze Pizza in 2012 and now Blaze has become the fastest-growing food chain in the US of all time.

Blaze is a fast, casual restaurant similar to that of Subway or Qdoba where you can make your own meal of choice, or choose from a menu of specialty items. Some quick research showed that James gets 16 toppings on his Blaze pizzas.

He started by opening two of his own Blaze restaurants in Chicago and Miami in 2012, and by 2015 he wanted all in with the pizza chain. His now original investment of $1 million has turned into $35 million and growing.

According to Forbes, going from two to 200 franchises in four years gives Blaze the fastest start ever in restaurant history, confirmed by industry consultancy Technomic.

James must have really loved his Blaze Pizza to leave his deal with global empire McDonald’s for an unknown pizza company.

In April 2017, James sat down with his business manager Maverick Carter on Uninterrupted’s “Kneading Dough”  and explained why he made the decision, leaving $14-15 million, according to Carter, on the table with McDonald’s.

“I believed in the actual product, first,” James said. “I remember going to UC Irvine, the first-ever Blaze, and we tasted the product and the product was phenomenal … And you came to me with the proposition that we actually own our own and be franchisees of a couple of cities in America. And the numbers that you were showing me, the numbers that we could make if we just put the time in effort into it, would be exceeding what McDonald’s would be giving me guaranteed over the next four years.”

“But more importantly, I think for me, it was like, ‘Oh wow, we get to actually build this.’ Forget the money, we could actually build something. And if it doesn’t become successful, then I can only blame myself.”

LIVERPOOL FC

LeBron James invested in Liverpool FC ten years ago and has seen his stake multiplied several times over since then. Securing a small stake in Liverpool FC has turned out to be a shrewd move. He bought 2% of Liverpool with his business partner Maverick Carter for $6.5M in April 2011. It proved to be a highly lucrative move.

Since James became a minority shareholder, Liverpool has enjoyed great success on the field, winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League for the first time the following year. Jürgen Klopp’s team are currently among the best in the Premier League and have booked their place in the Last 16 of this season’s Champions League. All of that has an effect on their revenue, operating income, and market value.

According to Forbes, Liverpool is valued at $4.1 billion and generates annual revenue of around $619 million. That means that James’ stake in the club is now worth around $44 million.

In March of 2021, James, Carter, and Paul Wachter became minority shareholders in Fenway Sports Group, the company which owns Liverpool FC. The actual amount that James invested in FSG has not been made public. But Maverick Carter said of the deal, “Working with Fenway Sports Group for the past decade has taught LeBron and me so much about the business on a global scale, and we’ve always believed it would lead to something bigger. We are proud to be part of this iconic ownership group and are excited about the opportunities that come with that to continue creating change and empowering people of every race, gender, and background to be part of the process.”

Apart from owning Liverpool FC, FSG’s empire includes MLB franchise Boston Red Sox, 50% of Nascar’s Fenway Roush Racing, 80% of sports cable network New England Sports Network (NESN), and marketing firm, Fenway Sports Management. According to Forbes, FSG is the fourth-largest sports group in the world valued at $6.6 billion.

ACTING CAREER

LeBron James’ biggest production, as of late, was in “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” But according to his IMDb page, he’s appeared in a number of other film and television productions.

Normally featured playing himself, James has also played other characters throughout his acting career including a highly praised role in a comedy.

The romantic comedy “Trainwreck” starring Amy Schumer and Bill Hader grossed more than $100 million in North America.

In “Trainwreck,” James plays himself as the best friend to the sports doctor character portrayed by Hader. James steals the show as comedic relief and many scenes include splitting the check for a meal despite being rich, discussing the differences between Miami and Cleveland, and seeing Hader’s character score on James are among the best parts of the movie.

Ian Crouch of The New Yorker called the James role “the greatest movie performance by an active professional basketball player.”

“Smallfoot” was released by Warner Brothers Animation. It was one of the limited movies that featured James playing someone other than himself on the big screen. James voices the yeti Gwangi, who is a member of the small foot evidentiary society. James’ character was a big part of the movie and part of the “good guys” in the movie proving that SES characters really exist.

In 2005, James voiced himself in his first credited acting role on IMDb: “Homer and Ned’s Hail Mary Pass” episode of “The Simpsons.”

The episode featured James briefly as a student of Homer Simpson learning celebration dances. James was part of a Super Bowl Halftime Show in the episode and called it the best day of his life on the episode.

A 2005 episode of the popular HBO series “Entourage” called “Give a Little Bit” features LeBron as himself. In the episode, the main character Vincent Chase, portrayed by Adrian Grenier, is pressured into giving money to charity by guest star Matt Damon, as well as by U2 singer Bono.

When Chase agrees to match whatever James donated to charity, he is surprised to find out the donation from the NBA star was $1 million.

“The LeBrons” is an animated series based on Nike commercials. “The LeBrons” ran for three seasons and had 23 episodes. The series premiered on YouTube and featured many family-friendly themes and had James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio as the focal point.

How Many Businesses Does LeBron James Own?

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