LeBron James

Athlete, NBA

$1.18B

as of 04/17/25

About LeBron James

LeBron James is the first active NBA player to become a billionaire.

Born to a 16-year-old single mother, he lived with an assortment of family members, friends and neighbors, plus his youth football coach, before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.

James has since gone on to earn more than $500 million in pretax salary from stints with the Cavaliers, the Miami Heat and his current team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

He has raked in upwards of $900 million (pretax) off the court, according to Forbes estimates, from his business ventures and endorsement deals with the likes of PepsiCo and Nike.

Key to his billionaire status: James has been more than a pitchman, taking equity in brands he works with, including Beats by Dre.

His LeBron James Family Foundation opened its first elementary school in 2018 and has pledged to spend more than $40 million to send kids to college.

Personal stats

Citizenship

United States of America

Source of wealth

Basketball

Residence

Los Angeles, California

Marital status

Married

Birth date

12/30/84 (age 40)

Number of children

Self-made

self-made

LeBron James’s fortune is worth

20K

troy ounces of gold

18K

median U.S. household

12K

median U.S. income

0.024%

U.S. credit card volume

0.005%

GDP of the United States

0.003%

United States debt

Net worth history

Annual ranking

Did you know?

In 2021, James sold a minority stake in his movie and TV production business, the SpringHill Company, to a handful of investors at a $725 million valuation.