How Michael Jordan Makes and Spends His $1.6 Billion Fortune

Since Jordan retired 15 years ago, he has built the most successful and lucrative career we’ve ever seen from a former athlete.

Source: Forbes

From secret golf courses and sprawling houses to custom planes, Jordan is clearly enjoying life after hoops.

Source: Insider

Jordan loves to golf, and this year, his exclusive golf course Grove XXIII’s nickname surfaced. Called “Slaughterhouse 23,” it earned the name since it was designed by Jordan, for Jordan, and aimed at maximizing Jordan’s style of play against his opponents.

Source: Insider

The course has lavish amenities, including a drone delivery service that brings beer and other refreshments to the club’s exclusive members.

Source: Insider

In March, Jordan was part of a $305 million investment in Dapper Labs, the startup behind virtual trading-card platform NBA Top Shot. Other investors included Will Smith, Kevin Durant, and 2 Chainz.

Source: Insider

Last fall, Jordan donated $2 million of his earnings from his docuseries “The Last Dance” to Feeding America’s food banks in Chicago and the Carolinas. “In these challenging times and in a year of unimaginable difficulty due to COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to pause and give thanks,” he said in a statement.

Source: NBC News, Variety

In 2020, Jordan and Nike’s Jordan Brand pledged to donate $100 million over 10 years to organizations fighting for ‘racial quality, social justice, and greater access to education.’ The June announcement came amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests over the killing of George Floyd.

Source: Insider

The recent money moves come as no surprise. Jordan is the world’s first athlete billionaire.

Source: Daily Mail

As of 2015, he was reportedly making $100 million a year from Nike royalties alone.

Source: Business Insider

And his income now is way more than his total playing salary during his career. He earned $90 million total in NBA salary, and about $63 million of that came in his final two seasons with the Chicago Bulls.

Source: Forbes, Spotrac, Basketball-Reference

His net worth is now believed to be $1.6 billion thanks to the value of his NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets …

Source: Money

… and the Jordan Brand.

Source: Forbes

He bought the Charlotte Hornets in 2010 for $175 million …

Source: Forbes, Business Insider

… and he officially became a billionaire in 2014 when the NBA franchise value rose.

Source: Business Insider

The team is now worth more than $1.5 billion, and he owns 97% of the equity in the club.

Source: Forbes

Jordan did sell a minority stake in the club in 2019, but he reportedly has no interest in giving up control of the team.

Source: Charlotte Observer

Jordan is still waiting for the day the Hornets win a championship. He has said that winning a championship as an owner would be more gratifying than any of the six rings he won as a player.

Source: Business Insider

According to Forbes, Jordan’s yearly earnings were roughly $145 million.

Source: Forbes

For comparison, LeBron James was estimated to earn less than $90 million a year from salary, winnings, and endorsements.

Source: Forbes

Nike founder Phil Knight called signing Jordan the best decision he ever made, nabbing the NBA rookie for $250,000 a year in 1984.

Source: Business Insider

Nike’s Jordan Brand alone now brings in roughly $3.6 billion in revenue each year.

Source: Forbes, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times

The popularity of Air Jordans has resurged in recent years thanks to celebrity partnerships to connect to a younger audience and new versions of retro styles to reconnect to the older fans.

Source: Business Insider

Nike’s Jordan Brand has even partnered with the popular video game ‘Fortnite.’

Source: Business Insider

Jordan reportedly wanted to sign with Adidas in 1984, but they passed because they preferred NBA players who were 7 feet tall.

Source: Business Insider

He has several endorsement deals with companies like Gatorade …

Source: Business Insider

… trading card company Upper Deck …

Source: Business Insider

… and Hanes. He’s been a spokesman for the company for nearly 30 years.

Source: Business Insider

Jordan said he has always been picky about his endorsements because he wanted to be genuine and also build his own brand. He once rejected a huge endorsement deal with Beanee Weenees because he didn’t like the name.

Source: Playboy

Jordan told Playboy, ‘How can I stand in front of a camera and say I’ll eat Beanee Weenees?’ He said the deal was close to $1 million per year — at the time, he had made less than $5 million in career earnings.

Source: Playboy

… Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, which has locations in Connecticut, Washington, and Chicago …

Source: Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse

Jordan also is one of many celebrities to start a tequila business. In 2019, Jordan and a team of four others created Cincoro tequila.

Source: Insider

He also owns a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina.

Source: Business Insider, Michael Jordan Nissan

In 2019, many billionaires lost money — but not Jordan. His net worth rose by $300 million.

Source: Forbes

That steady stream of income lets him live a pretty amazing lifestyle.

He has a private jet. It’s painted Carolina blue, and the ID number contains his jersey number (23) and number of titles (6).

Source: Business Insider

He spent $12.8 million building his dream house in Florida in 2012.

Source: Yahoo, Business Insider

Grove XXIII — keeping with his obsession with the No. 23 — and opened in the fall of 2019 in the Hobe Sound, Florida.

Source: Golf Digest

He also has a $2.8 million house near Charlotte.

Source: Business Insider

He’s selling his compound in Chicago, which was originally listed for $29 million. The estate’s gate is emblazoned with his jersey number.

Source: Business Insider

But eight years later, the house is still on the market and the price is down to $14.9 million.

Source: Business Insider, Zillow

It is estimated that Jordan has paid more than $680,000 in property taxes since he put the house up for sale.

Source: Business Insider

Luxury real estate brokers think the amount of customization the house has undergone in order to become Jordan’s personal palace is one of a few reasons why the property hasn’t sold yet.

Source: Business Insider

In 2016, Jordan won a case against a Chinese sportswear company that was using his Chinese name.

Source: Business Insider

The company had been using a logo similar to Jordan’s Air Jordan logo, and the symbols used spell out his name in Chinese — Qiaodan Sports. He first sued the company in 2012, but lower-level courts ruled in favor of the company.

Source: Business Insider

That’s not the only lawsuit he’s been involved in though pertaining to his name and branding. Two supermarkets, Dominick’s and Jewel-Osco, associated themselves with Jordan without his permission.

Source: Business Insider

Jordan sued and won millions. But he didn’t keep all the money.

Source: Business Insider

Instead, he donated millions to 23 charities benefiting the children of Chicago.

Source: Business Insider

In 2016, Jordan also pledged two large donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s new Institute for Community-Police Relations. This came after a string of police-involved shootings.

Source: Business Insider

In 2018, he donated $2 million to Hurricane Florence relief efforts.

Source: Chicago Tribune

In 2019, he pledged $7 million to open two medical clinics in Charlotte.

Source: Business Insider

In the same year, Jordan teamed up with driver Denny Hamlin to become a NASCAR Cup Series team co-owner. Together, they formed 23XI racing, and Bubba Wallace is their first driver.

Source: Insider, ESPN

Jordan has three children from his first marriage with Juanita Vanoy.

Source: Biography

The pair married in 1989 and divorced in 2006. The 17-year marriage cost Jordan a whopping $168 million in the settlement.

Source: Biography, NBC Chicago

Jordan’s three oldest children have all followed their father into the shoe business. Jeffrey, the oldest, works at Nike in Oregon, and Jasmine, the youngest, has worked for her father’s NBA team as well as being an Air Jordan representative in Charlotte.

Source: Business Insider

Jordan married Yvette Prieto in 2013, and they welcomed twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel, in 2014.

Source: USA Today

Jordan has invested some of his fortune in tech startups. He was reportedly one of several celebrities who invested heavily in Gigster — a Silicon Valley startup connecting companies to freelance software developers, designers, and project managers.

Source: Business Insider, Gigster

He is also a minority owner of an MLB team — the Miami Marlins — having been part of Derek Jeter’s investment group.

Source: Business Insider

Jordan is also a famous gambler. Charles Barkley told Dan Patrick Jordan used to wager hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single hole when he played golf. While others, like Barkley himself, would wager a few hundred dollars.

Source: Business Insider, Dan Patrick Show

He also used to play $100 post-practice shooting games that allegedly ruined Rodney McCray’s career. MJ would reportedly taunt McCray him by yelling: “You’re a loser! You’ve always been a loser!’

Source: Business Insider