Michael Jordan is ridiculously wealthy

Michael Jordan has always been Nike’s best investment, but it wasn’t until a recent business deal that the NBA legend joined the billionaire’s club.

HIS Airness, Mike, MJ, Superman, GOAT.

Michael Jordan has gone by a hatful of nicknames during his life, but perhaps the most apt would be the latter.

The NBA legend is not only the greatest basketball player of all-time, but quite possibly the greatest sportsman of all-time, The Sun reports.

While the likes of Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and even current NBA star LeBron James have attempted to wrestle that mantle from Jordan, it’s hard to look past MJ.

Not only the most incredible player on the basketball court, Jordan is a man of many other talents, including being a talented baseball player and golfer.

Then there’s his business empire, with MJ worth $2.4 billion, according to Forbes.

As Jordan celebrates his 56th birthday today, we take a look back at his glittering career and everything else that makes the man the GOAT.

A BUSSINESS EMPIRE LIKE NO OTHER

Michael Jordan gets paid.

When you think of basketball shoes, it’s hard not to think of the sneakers bearing the “Jumpman” logo — the iconic, leaping, sprawling silhouette of MJ.

Ever since entering the NBA and signing a massive deal with Nike, the Air Jordans have been the most sought-after kicks.

Even now, well into his third and final retirement, the Jordan brand is firing on all cylinders.

Essentially part of Nike, the MJ shoes do not bear the famous “Swoosh”, but instead the “Jumpman”, styled in his famous image.

Between them, Nike and Jordan command 90 per cent of the total shoe market in the USA.

But the man himself is now worth an estimated $2.38b, according to Forbes.

It puts him at the No. 4 spot in Forbes’ annual celebrity rich list with only George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey estimated to have a higher worth.

Despite the majority of his wealth coming from his merchandise empire, Jordan has also been making a killing with his majority ownership stake in NBA team the Charlotte Hornets.

MJ has had a 90 per cent stake in the team formerly called the Charlotte Bobcats.

In the past 12 months his personal fortune has increased a further $420 million — mostly on the back of dramatic rises in the value of NBA franchises.

The game’s $US24 billion TV deal has seen the value of franchises steadily rise in recent reasons.

His stake in the Hornets alone is now valued at more than $1.1 billion.

The team was reportedly worth $225 million when he first purchased his stake in the team in 2010.

These days, Jordan also owns seven restaurants, including a steakhouse in New York, as well as a car dealership in his former home state of North Carolina.

Michael Jordan’s clothing line thrived on the back of outfits like these.

On top of that, MJ has seen mega-bucks endorsement deals with the likes of drinks company Gatorade, gaming company 2K Sports, McDonalds, Chevrolet and Coca-Cola.

To put it all in context, Jordan earned around $100 million in salary during his 15-year NBA career, but in 2015 alone, based on his business interests, he raked in $130 million.

It was the same year Jordan first joined the billionaires’ club when his dividend from Nike alone saw him rank in more than $120 million.

In 2018, the Nike Jordan brand brought in more than $US2.25 billion. Everybody gets rich in this deal.

It has been the most incredibly mutually beneficial relationship in basketball.

Nike founder Phil Knight admits it was the best decision of his business career, signing Jordan to a $250,000-per-year contract in 1984.

Nike’s decision to sign Jordan when Adidas went for No. 1 draft pick Hakeem Olajuwon is the stuff dreams and fortunes are made of.

It’s why the apparel company was only too happy to share the love and the wealth when it came time to negotiating Jordan’s ambassador and merchandise deals towards the end of his glittering career.

The year following his retirement in 2003, he earned more money through his deals with Nike than he did during the rest his playing career combined — a cool $130 million.

With Nike’s bottom line also dramatically improving on the back of the recent Colin Kaepernick “Just Do It” campaign — celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first Nike “Just Do It” ad — there is no reason to suggest the good times won’t just keep rolling for the 56-year-old.

It’s why recent splurges on a $2.8 million home in Charlotte and a $12.8 million mansion in Florida and constructing his own private golf course don’t seem excessive at all.

AN NBA CAREER LIKE NO OTHER

Six championships.

BASKETBALL fan or not, you’ve heard of Michael Jordan — the greatest player of all-time.

But incredibly, his sensational career got off to the worst possible start as he was cut from his high school team in his sophomore year.

Motivated by his “failure”, MJ broke into the team a year later and was recruited by a cluster of the biggest basketball colleges in the country, eventually opting for UNC (University of North Carolina).

After an even more impressive college career — helping UNC win the NCAA Championship in 1982, hitting the game-winning shot — Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984.

Ridiculously, MJ was drafted only third in the 1984 — as legend Hakeem Olajuwon went first, with forgotten man Sam Bowie bizarrely selected at No. 2.

Even more driven to prove everyone he was the best, Jordan quickly settled into life in the NBA and left jaws on the floor with his outrageous play.

A stunning athlete, incredible dunker, regular game-winner and mouthy trash-talker, there was seemingly nothing anyone could do to slow him down.

After all, during his 13 seasons at the Bulls, Jordan won the NBA title six times, and the league’s Most Valuable Player award five times.

On top of that he was named Finals MVP six times, NBA All-Star 12 times (14 in total) amongst dozens and dozens of accolades, both personal and team.

THE GREATEST COMEBACK OF THEM ALL

He’s back.

WE all remember the story. Jordan once gave up basketball to pursue a career in baseball, only to come back to NBA after just over a year away.

On his return, with the Bulls struggling midway through the season, Jordan simply said: “I’m back”.

Having already won three NBA titles in consecutive years in his first stint, MJ’s return sent fans in Chicago wild.

Incredibly, the Bulls then reeled off another three championships in successive years starting from the following year.

After the outrageous success, both team and personal, Jordan retired from basketball again.

Three years after hanging up his sneakers, he returned to the court with the Washington Wizards, aged 38.

Well past a normal basketball player’s prime, he still lead his team in points, assists and steals in his first season back.

While he never put up outrageous numbers, he still posted totals of around 21 points, six rebounds and five assists - easily good enough to be All Star calibre play.

RIDING THE BUS IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

As already mentioned, Jordan left the Bulls and the NBA entirely in 1993 to pursue a dream of playing baseball, citing a loss of motivation to play basketball.

MJ played in Minor League Baseball, turning out for the Birmingham Barons - an affiliate of MLB side the Chicago White Sox.

Jordan later revealed he was picking up his bat for his father, who had been murdered just three months earlier.

Despite the massive fanfare, MJ failed to replicate his NBA form in baseball, posting just three home runs in 127 matches.

Jordan, still a very talented player, was not MLB-worthy and played briefly in the Arizona Fall League before roaring those two famous words: “I’m back”.

THE FAMILY BEHIND THE GOAT

Yvette Prieto and Michael Jordan.

JORDAN is the fourth of five children, born to Deloris and James in Brooklyn, New York — before moving to Wilmington, North Carolina as a toddler.

MJ has two older brothers, Larry and James Jr, one older sister Deloris Jr and one younger sister, Roslyn.

In his own love-life, Jordan married partner Juanita Vanoy in 1989 before having three kids together - Jeffrey Michael, Marcus James and Jasmine.

However, MJ and Vanoy filed for divorce in 2002, citing “irreconcilable differences” before reconciling shortly after.

Four years later the pair “mutually and amicably” divorced, with the pay-off a reported £120m — a then record settlement.

Since then, Jordan has re-married, after proposing to long-term girlfriend Yvette Prieto — a Cuban-American model — on Christmas Day 2011.

They married in April 2013, before having twins later just under a year later — identical girls, Victoria and Isabel.

— This story originally appeared on thesun.co.uk