Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James has become the first active NBA player to make the Forbes billionaires list. According to Forbes ranking, James the 37 years old is the world's second highest-paid athlete before footballer Lionel Messi.
The four-time champ who had a tough childhood with his mother, Gloria, after she gave birth to him at just 16 years old, had spoken about his desire to make a billion in his lifetime. James' dreams began to manifest when he achieved a milestone after making a huge sum of $121.2 million in the year 2021, joining Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only other hoopers to rake in such an amount.
The American business magazine puts James' net worth at $1bn (£796.4m).
His earnings over the last 12 months beat his own record of $96.5m (£76.8m) for an NBA player that he set last year.
The 18-time all-star player has earned more than $385m (£306.4m) in salary from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Lakers, but most of his income has come from endorsements and business ventures.
In March, James moved second in the NBA's list of all-time scorers and he currently has 37,062 points, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).
Only Jordan (six), Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell (both five) have been named the NBA's MVP on more occasions than James.
