Michael Jordan is a Chicago Bulls legend, six-time champion, NBA Hall of Famer and now, for the first time, a billionaire.
MJ is a rookie on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires, which included a record 290 new names.
Also new to the billionaires club? Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
The most famous rookie on the billionaires list? Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and indisputably the best-paid athlete of all time. Most of his cash comes from Nike payouts on his iconic brand. The Jordan brand grossed an estimated $2.25 billion in 2013, earning his Airness some $90 million. But his most valuable asset is his stake in the Charlotte Hornets, worth more than $500 million. When ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for a stunning $2 billion, values of all NBA teams skyrocketed, creating three new billionaires. Jordan’s old boss Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls, joined the list with a fortune of $1.3 billion, and Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander boosted his net worth to $1.6 billion.
The richest people in the sports world are:
Stanley Kroenke, owner of Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, $6.3B
Robert Kraft, owner of New England Patriots, $4.3B
Jerry Jones, owner of Dallas Cowboys, $4.2B
Bernard Ecclestone, Formula 1 chief executive, $3.9B
Stephen Bisciotti, owner of Baltimore Ravens, $2.7B
Arthur Blank, owner of Atlanta Falcons, $2.5B
Robert McNair, owner of Houston Texans, $2.4B
James France, NASCAR executive, $2.1B
Tom Benson, owner of New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, $1.9B
James Irsay, owner of Indianapolis Colts, $1.8B
You can see the full list of Forbes billionaires here, and the list of sports billionaires here.
