Is LeBron a billionaire? LeBron James, the 18-time NBA all-star, four-time NBA champion, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has reached yet another milestone, this time accomplishing something no other NBA player has ever done.
After another record-breaking year of earnings–totaling $121.2 million last year–Forbes believes James has officially become a billionaire while still playing basketball.
According to Forbes, the 37-year-old superstar has a net worth of $1 billion. James is the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list, despite missing the playoffs for only the fourth time in 19 seasons. (The only other basketball billionaire, Michael Jordan, didn’t reach ten figures until 2014, more than a decade after retiring, thanks to a well-timed investment in the Charlotte Hornets basketball team.)
“It’s my biggest milestone,” James told GQ in a prophetic 2014 interview. “Obviously. I want to maximize my business. And if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my God, I’m gonna be excited.”
