Shaquille O’Neal Shares The Money Advice Magic Johnson Gave Him After Joining The Lakers
NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has had many successes in his life but he will be the first to admit that he was not the best in money management.
In fact, Shaq said he blew through his first million-dollar paycheck in an hour, buying matching Mercedes-Benzes for him and his dad and expensive jewelry. “I had a million, but I wasn’t netting a million. I had no knowledge about FICA, state tax and income tax,” O’Neal told Daymond John, entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” star at a Black Entrepreneurs Day event on Saturday.
But Shaq said when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1992, legendary NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson gave him some valuable money advice.
“When I first got to L.A., [Johnson] said, ‘Shaq, it’s okay to be famous and all that but at some point, you want to start owning things,’” O’Neal said.
Shaq clearly took that financial advice to heart as he’s been one of the most successful NBA players off the court following his retirement in 2011. He sponsor many companies and is a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings.
He is currently a NBA analyst on TNT and has a net worth of $400,000. Magic obviously gave him some good advice.
