Shaquille O’Neal is known as one of the richest athletes around. His career was as decorated as it could be and he still thrives in sports entertainment. Now worth an estimated $400 million, the former NBA Champion had a childhood that was quite the opposite. Shaq’s family did not have much when he was a child. Things were very tough for his stepfather, mother, and his siblings.
60 % of NBA players go broke after retirement
Shaquille O’Neal 4x’d his net worth with one simple strategy
Here’s what he did
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— . (@TheMrMoneySmart) April 20, 2021
In his book Shaq Uncut, the Big Diesel would explain the type of area he grew up in. He would mention things that would happen regularly. Shaq said there was, “too much poverty, anger, drugs, and inequality.” But the O’Neal family believed in the complete opposite of how things were. He said racism was never a thing in his household. The NBA legend goes on to elaborate on the chaotic nature of his neighborhood.
“I didn’t know I was poor,” he said. He mentioned how his mother struggled to pay rent and feed his family. “I was hungry all the time, but I figured that was just because I was so damn big. Every morning that I woke up, it seemed like I had grown another couple of inches,” he explained. Shaq admitted having no idea of the sacrifices his family, especially his mother made for him when he was a child. But this eventually pushed him to earn well.
Shaquille O’Neal proudly owns 50 brands across the country
As we all know, Shaquille O’Neal always talks about the investments he has. The former Los Angeles Lakers player revealed that owns 50 brands in various industries. He owns several 24-hour fitness gyms, and car washes as well as Five Guys, Krispy Kreme, Aunty Annie’s Pretzels, Papa John’s, a movie theater and so much more.
The list is so big it would have you contemplating life decisions. But one of Shaq’s biggest pieces of advice to people is to use money wisely.
In an interview with CNBC, he said, “This is $100. What you want to do is, you want to rip the $100 in half. Take one half, he says, and save it. Don’t ever touch it. Put it away. Don’t even look at it. Now you’ve got $50 left. Now, the smart people, the billionaires of the world, they’ll take half of that $50 and put all that away,” he says. In order words, Shaq encourages people to save 75% of their earnings.
With the remaining 25%, he said, “You want to buy houses, you want to buy cars, you want to buy planes, you want to travel? This right here is what you have fun with.” This is one of the biggest pieces of advice Shaq received in his life. His stepfather Phillip Harrison would also push him to make great choices in life. Shaq also praises Harrison for being a role model to him.