Michael Jordan is a billionaire after increasing ownership in Hornets
By Josh Hill
It took Michael Jordan less than a decade to win three championships but it too him half a century to become a billionaire. But the most popular basketball player of the last twenty years has finally joined the ranks of the world’s elite money makers as Forbes is reporting Jordan has officially achieved billionaire status.
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According to Forbes reporter Michael Ozanian, Jordan has increased his ownership take in the Charlotte Hornets by almost 10 percent over the last couple of months. Jordan’s previous net worth was int he neighborhood of $750 million but that’s chump change now as the former Chicago Bulls star has used a team in his home state to become one of the richest men on the planet.
"In February, my colleague and the Dean of athlete earnings, Kurt Badenhausen, pegged Jordan’s annual earnings at $90 million and his net worth at $750 million. But I have learned from sources familiar with the Charlotte Hornets that the former NBA great has increased his stake in his basketball team to 89.5% from 80% during the past several months."
If you’re like everyone else in the world, you likely already thought that Jordan had achieved billionaire status by now but that’s not the case. Despite the money he made with the Chicago Bulls throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and despite the movies, endorsement deals and memorabilia sales, Jordan was just worth $750 million — which wasn’t enough.
It’s ironic that it took an ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets to get a legend like Jordan to the billion dollar mark, but it’s fitting to have his home state help him out and now that Jordan is a billionaire, we can all rest easy once again.