In 2023, Michael Jordan accomplished a rare feat for athletes. With a $3 billion bump in his net worth, he earned a spot in the prestigious Forbes 400 list. While everyone was celebrating the arrival of the first professional athlete among the world’s wealthiest personalities, the one who got sidelined by the list went unnoticed. Donald Trump has been a near-permanent fixture in this club since the first-ever Forbes 400 list in 1982. But he dropped off the list twice in three years to make way for the new billionaires.
Of course not ranking among the exclusive big league doesn’t equate to the setback the former President suffered today. A New York jury convicted him on all 34 charges in his hush-money case. He’s now the first former US president convicted on felony charges. The conviction doesn’t prevent him from campaigning for the presidency.
In the wake of his conviction, his supporters have flooded his online platforms. These same websites reportedly contributed to a decline in his wealth that saw him drop out of the Forbes exclusive list. Truth Social, his social media business that’s getting inundated right now, became the money drain. It barely attracted 1% of the X (formerly Twitter) user population. Trump’s 90% stake in Truth Social plummeted from $730 million to $100 million. His other businesses also suffered in value. His net worth went down $600 million, leaving him with a $2.6 billion net worth and unable to meet the Forbes 400 criteria.
For years, he has claimed that his net worth is higher to maintain his spot on the list. His biggest profit maker is his golf club. Yet that could also be threatened by his Floridian rival and The Grove XXIII mogul, Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan gets rich being Michael Jordan
In 2023, Michael Jordan completed the sale of the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion, a massive profit for what he bought the majority stake for. With the big payout, he met the criteria for the exclusive Forbes 400 billionaires club. While that is the big factor in putting him in league with the world’s richest, MJ became the first billionaire athlete for being himself.
He drew some of the largest salaries in NBA history during his playing career and made $94 million at the time of his retirement. It was however the appeal of his Nike sneakers, Air Jordan, that were a cool supplementary income. Today, Nike occupies the largest share of the global sneaker market and its sub-category the Jordan Brand is the second largest sneaker seller. In 2023, Air Jordan was responsible for 16.4% of Nike’s total revenue.
For having his silhouette on each of those shoes, the ‘Jumpman’ takes home a nifty 5% slice of the Nike pie. As of 2023, that’s about $300 million a year for being Michael Jordan. The 5% stays, but as Nike grows, so does MJ’s royalty. And it’s sure to maintain his spot in the Forbes 400 elites.
Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.