Wealthiest
Photo of LeBron James

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. In 2022, LeBron James's net worth is estimated to be $500 million dollars.

March 29, 2022

Words by Matthew Taylor

LeBron James Net Worth

$500 million

Est. Range $388M - $613M

Medium Confidence

LeBron James is a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is considered one of the greatest players in NBA history and is often compared to Michael Jordan. James has won four NBA championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards, three All-Star MVP awards, and two Olympic gold medals. He has played in ten NBA Finals, the third most all time, including eight consecutively between 2011 and 2018. In 2021, James was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

You vs. LeBron James

How long would it take you to earn as much as LeBron James?

Richest Athletes

The average salary for athletes in the United States is around $49,143 per year. Not however, if you play in the NBA where the average salary is projected to be around $8 million this year. Even then, though, earnings vary greatly. While some of the top players (we’re looking at you, Stephen Curry) earned over $45 million last year, others didn’t even reach the million-dollar mark.

All sports aren’t created equal though and basketball doesn’t even make the top five highest earning sports. Ice hockey, tennis and soccer stars round out the top three, with athletes in those sports able to build a huge amount of wealth from their appearance fees alone.

Still, there’s always ways for athletes to increase their earnings. UFC fighter Conor McGregor managed to be the top earning athlete in 2021, but a sizeable amount of his income was due the sale of his majority stake in Irish whiskey distiller Proper No. Twelve. However, opportunities for athletes go well beyond business deals.

As is the case with actors, musicians and other celebrities, the golden ticket to building an athlete’s net worth tends to lie in endorsements, sponsorships and selling their name (and often photos) wherever they can. Athletes have to be careful about what they do and say though… more than a few athletes have lost their product endorsements and been dropped by a brand over a scandal or unwise comment.

Buying Power

LeBron James's net worth of 500 million can buy...

15873x
Rolex GMT Master II
Priced at $31,499
3804x
Tesla Model S
Priced at $131,440
819x
Prestige 420 yacht
Priced at $610,000

Methodology

The Wealthiest Index is a ranking of the world's richest people. In calculating Andre Agassi’s net worth, we strive to provide the most transparent calculations available with detailed analysis of how that Andre Agassi’s fortune was made. Each net worth figure is updated at regular intervals to reflect market movements.

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