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Is LeBron James an entrepreneur?

LeBron James is regarded by many players and experts as the player who has significantly changed basketball. The King strives for the GOAT status and managed to achieve success both outside the basketball world as well.

Is LeBron James an entrepreneur? LeBron is actually one of the most underrated entrepreneurs in the world. The King owns several businesses and has managed to achieve a net worth of $1 billion. He is an owner of several companies and constantly expands the reach of his business.

LeBron has garnered the attention of Warren Buffet as well. In the following article, we will have a look at LeBron’s entrepreneurial activities and what he has accomplished in recent years. 

Springhill – The Most Successful Company

SpringHill, named after a residential complex in Akron, Ohio, where LeBron James grew up, was founded in 2020 through the merger of three organizations. SpringHill Entertainment is a 2007 production company that produces documentaries, animation films, TV series and game shows. In July 2021, the movie Space Jam: The Next Generation was released, in which LeBron James played himself.

SpringHill collaborates with the world’s largest brands and platforms – Netflix, HBO, Disney +, ESPN, ABC, Universal. Working with both sports and entertainment content, the company has become very attractive to big brands like Nike. According to experts, whoever buys this business will immediately receive a commercially successful business, premium content and exclusive distribution channels. This unique combination would ultimately generate well over $750 million.

In 2021 it was rumoured that the company could be sold for $750 million.  Just a year after investors raised $ 100 million to combine several businesses at SpringHill, the founders of the company LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter – are now looking into a purchase offer.

LeBron’s partner Maverick Carter is a former teammate and best friend. It was Carter who helped LeBron in 2016 revise his previous contract with Nike and sign a life-long contract, according to which, James earns over $30 million a year. Carter himself said in an interview that LeBron’s contract with Nike could reach $1 billion. Although no one knows how LeBron’s sneakers will be bought in ten to twenty years, for example, Michael Jordan, who has long retired from his career, annually sells goods with his name worth more than $1 billion.

LeBron James Invests in Spirits

LeBron James has also invested in the brand of spirits Lobos 1707. The new premium brand of drinks produces tequila and mezcal, which cost from $45 to $150 (3.4-11.3 thousand rub.) per bottle. Although LeBron is not the first celebrity to dive into the tequila business, Lobos 1707 is different from other brands in that the drinks are aged in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks using Solera technology. 

LeBron, being a connoisseur of expensive red wines, made an informed choice by deciding to invest in spirits. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, the gross income of American high-quality tequila producers increased by more than 570% from 2002 to 2019. In particular, revenue from the sale of super-premium tequila increased by 963%. According to the IWSR, 56% of the total volume of tequila in the world (18.3 million nine-litre cases) is drunk in the United States. At the same time, the drink has potential for growth: tequila accounts for only 10% of the American spirits market. 

This promising market attracts celebrity investors. Another basketball player, Michael Jordan, invested in the production of tequila. Together with colleagues in the sports business, he created a new brand – Cincoro Tequila.

LeBron is a Smart Entrepreneur

LeBron is smart enough to hire smart people to run the business while he watches the development of his global empire from afar. Both he and Maverick have done great financially and both have a great idea of ​​where they are going.

Over the years, LeBron has learned to transfer his thirst for victory and success outside the playing field. His desire to win, the desire to follow his own strategy and make the most of his advantages will not go anywhere. He loves competition too much.

His passionate desire to help the disadvantaged children of his hometown pushed him to commit the most original and innovative things he has ever done in his life. And he likes the feeling that he gets from it. He doesn’t want to stop doing this either. Considering that LeBron has done everything to become what he is now, his entrepreneurial activities will also follow the same path.

When LeBron was a teenager and first realized his place in this world – he realized that he had received a gift of talent that opened up before him the opportunity to become one of the greatest players in his favourite sport – he made a strong-willed decision to devote himself to this cause. He wanted to be in the best possible shape; wanted to tirelessly hone his skills; wanted to extend his career as long as possible. His goal was to get the most out of his gift, he wanted to squeeze everything out of it.

His approach to business is similar. He wants to take advantage of the advantages that fame gives him; wants to control his image and define it independently; wants to get the best out of it.

When LeBron’s story ends, it probably won’t be the story of how he made a billion or five billion. It will be about what he wanted to achieve at eighteen, at thirty-four, at eighty.