How did Magic Johnson become a billionaire? Exploring NBA legend's annual earnings, assets, businesses and more

Magic Johnson is now a billionaire. According to Forbes, he joined the three comma club. He became just the fourth American athlete to reach billionaire status. Johnson has turned his NBA stardom into many successful business ventures.

The 64-year-old basketball legend is now worth $1.2 billion, according to Forbes. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the other American athletes to cross the billion threshold.

Johnson has made many investments in a plethora of business ventures. Let’s take a look at how Magic Johnson built his fortune.

The majority of his current wealth comes from his majority ownership of the insurance company EquiTrust. He took majority control almost a decade ago. The company has blown up in value from $16 billion to $26 billion during his time as the majority owner.

Johnson has also heavily invested in North American professional sports teams. He is a minority owner of different sports franchises. He is a part of multiple ownership groups that recently purchased some of the biggest US sports franchises.

He is a minority owner of the NFL's Washington Commanders. He owns 4% of the team. He invested $242 million to purchase his stake in the team. The team was purchased for a record $6.05 billion before the start of the ongoing season.

Johnson is also a part owner of LA Dodgers in the MLB. He invested $50 million to purchase a 2.3% stake. The team is now valued at $4.8 billion, according to Forbes. The team was bought for $2 billion in 2012.

Johnson is also involved in basketball and soccer. In 2014, he bought a minority stake in LAFC in Major League Soccer. He also has a stake in the LA Sparks in the WNBA.

In 1994, he purchased a share of the LA Lakers. The Lakers were of course the team he spent his legendary NBA career with. He purchased his stake for $10 million. In 2010, he sold it for $27 million.

Johnson has also gotten into other businesses. He once owned a movie theater chain. He sold it to Loews in 2004. Johnson also owned 100 Starbucks locations. He sold those back to Starbucks in 2010.

Most billionaires have their hands in different businesses at once, and Johnson is the same. He is on the board for Cameo and Fanatics. He has also invested in the CBD and NFT industry.

Magic Johnson NBA career earnings

Magic Johnson built his billionaire fortune after being an NBA star. However, NBA salaries when he played were nowhere near the massive contracts of today’s players. Most of Johnson’s money did not come from his career earnings.

However, Magic Johnson was still nicely paid during his Hall of Fame career. He played 13 seasons in the NBA. He made around $40 million on his NBA contracts. When adjusted for inflation, that is around $110 million today. He may have made more money. His career of course was shortened after his HIV diagnosis.