Michael Jordan Net Worth: How Much The NBA Superstar Made

Michael Jordan is widely considered one of, if not the greatest basketball basketball players of all time. Jordan’s career resume is tough to beat. Through 15 seasons in the league, the superstar won six NBA championships, six NBA Finals MVPs, five NBA MVPs and made 14 trips to the All-Star game.

While many know him for all of his incredible moments on the court, Jordan is equally well-known for his accomplishments off it. In his years since retirement, the basketball legend has turned into an international business mogul.

Michael Jordan’s Net Worth

Compared to the massive NBA contracts in today’s game, Jordan made pennies from his playing career.

Through his 15 years in the league, 13 with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Washington Wizards, Jordan amassed a total career earnings of $90 million.

Of course that’s nothing to sneeze at, but the real money came with his deals off the court. Through countless endorsement deals and multiple savvy ownership decisions, Jordan has become one of the wealthiest men in the world.

The former basketball star has seen more lucrative post-career earnings than any professional athlete in history, per Business Insider.

Jordan’s total net worth currently sits at $1.6 billion, according to Forbes. He was ranked 1,001 on Forbes’ list of world billionaires as of Dec. 1, 2020.

(Photo by Jordan Brand via Getty Images)

Business Ventures

Early in his career, Jordan quickly became an international icon. With that kind of image usually comes endorsement deal after endorsement deal. The Bulls star was no exception.

Jordan, 57, still has partnerships with Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck 17 years after retiring in 2003.

But, his biggest endorsement by far comes with Nike.

The emerging shoe company signed Jordan as the face of the brand in 1984. Nearly 40 years later, not much has changed. The Jordan Brand is one of the most iconic brands to this day, bringing in massive amounts of revenue for Nike each year. The company reported nearly $2.9 billion in revenue in 2018.

Jordan currently out-earns every current NBA player on sneaker deals. Nike has paid Jordan an estimated $1.3 billion since 1984. According to Forbes, he made $130 million from Nike in 2019 alone.

In 2010, Jordan opened up yet another revenue stream when he became majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. At the time of purchase, the entire franchise was worth $175 million. After selling a minority stake of the franchise in 2019, the Hornets are now valued at $1.5 billion.

Jordan’s Journey

Jordan was born on Feb. 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York to James and Delores Jordan. Soon after his birth, Jordan, his parents and his four siblings moved down to Wilmington, North Carolina where he would spend his childhood.

Jordan continued to expand his North Carolina roots heading into his college career. The young shooting guard enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1981 and quickly became a key member of the program. In 1982, Jordan led the Tar Heels to a national championship victory over Georgetown, hitting an iconic game-winning shot.

Jordan was named the NCAA College Player of the Year two years in a row from 1983-84.

The Chicago Bulls drafted Jordan third overall in the 1984 NBA draft.

Jordan’s body of work in Chicago was otherworldly. The legend led his team to six NBA championship appearances, winning each one for a Finals record of 6-0. The six wins came in historic fashion. One threepeat from 1991-93 and another from 1996-98.

(Getty Images: Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel)

After his third championship in 1993, Jordan retired from the NBA to play minor league baseball. Earlier that year, Jordan’s father, James, was murdered in a car robbery. It was always his father’s dream to see him play professional baseball.

Jordan returned to basketball the following year. After a disappointing Eastern Conference Finals loss in 1995, Jordan bounced back and led his team to three more championships.

Let’s take a look at the stats that got the Bulls here.

On Chicago’s six championship runs, Jordan averaged an NBA-high 32.5 points per game. Through his 13 career playoff appearances, the Bulls star averaged a staggering 33.4 ppg. Jordan’s best playoff scoring effort came in 1986 when he averaged an insane 43.7 ppg en route to an ECF loss to the Celtics. After carrying the Bulls with little to no help that year, Jordan received some much need support the following year when Chicago drafted Scottie Pippen.

In 10 of Jordan’s 15 NBA seasons, he led the league in scoring.

Jordan has all the success, and the stats to back it up.

Personal Life

In 1989, Jordan married his first wife, Juanita Vanoy. The couple had three children together: Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine. Jordan and Vanoy were married for 17 years before they divorced in 2006.

Jeffrey and Marcus both followed in their father’s footsteps and played college basketball. Jeffrey enrolled at Illinois in 2007 where he played for three years. After averaging just over one point per game for the Illini, Jeffrey joined his brother Marcus at UCF in 2010.

On Apr. 27, 2013, Jordan married 35-year-old Yvette Prieto. Jordan met the Cuban American model at a nightclub in 2008, two years after his divorce from Vanoy.

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Jordan and Pietro announced they were expecting just seven months after they were married in Palm Beach, Florida. In February of 2014, Jordan and his second wife welcomed twin daughters to the world: Victoria and Ysabel.

The family currently lives in a multi-million dollar super mansion in Jupiter, Florida. Located on luxurious Bear’s Club property, the home is 28,000 square feet and includes 11 bedrooms, a full-size basketball court and a cigar-friendly media room, via Yahoo Sports.

As the owner of the Hornets, Jordan also owns two Charlotte properties: one multi-million dollar lake house and a 7,000-square-foot penthouse downtown.

Of course, the Bulls legend also owns a Chicago mansion. The 56,000-square-foot property sits on a suburb of north Chicago and is currently on the market for $15 million. The home is complete with nine bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, pool, tennis court, putting green, indoor basketball court, cigar room and a front gate marked with a massive No. 23.

Jordan is certainly putting that $1.6 billion net worth to use.

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