NBA Legend Michael Jordan’s Net Worth, Family, Career, and Bio Revealed

Michael Jordan is the face of basketball. Without him, the sport would totally be different. You might not even know what it is! Many agree that “MJ” is the best basketball player of all time having played a dynastic championship streak in NBA’s Chicago Bulls.

However, he’s more than that as he’s also accumulated billions of dollars thanks to his illustrious NBA career, businesses, and multi-million dollar investments. So, is he really the Greatest of All-time (GOAT)? Read on to know!

Early Life

Michael Jordan was born on Feb. 17, 1963, to James and Deloris Jordan in Brooklyn, New York. His family then moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where his father worked as the supervisor of a General Electric plant. Meanwhile, his mom was a full-time banker.

His dad taught him to work hard and to not dive into the street thug life. On the other hand, his mom taught him a few household chores. Interestingly, Michael didn’t start out as a superstar as he even failed to enter his high school basketball team.

Fortunately, he worked hard enough and he eventually made it to the University of North Carolina varsity. It was there where his skills and talent was discovered as he managed to win the Rookie of the Year award in the 1992 Atlantic Coast Conference.

It was also where his NCAA career started. He was even named as the college player of the year in two consecutive years. However, he left his school in North Carolina as soon as he finished his junior year.

This was the right choice for him as he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. He was even the third overall draft pick during the 1984 NBA Draft.

Start of Career

Being drafted to the NBA was a big milestone for Jordan. However, it wasn’t an easy thing for him as he got selected to join a losing team. The Chicago Bulls were among the weakest teams during that time. They didn’t even go past the 10,000 fans mark in their home games.

His great leaping ability and skills in dribbling were what made him stand out among the rest. His first season in the NBA even got him to the All-Star team. He was then honored the Rookie of the Year award.

His career skyrocketed since then, and season after season, he revolutionized the game by showing that certain basketball moves and skills can be done. Some even say that he is the reason why basketball got a modern feel to it.

However, the Bulls failed to make it to the Playoffs until 1988. This is where Jordan decided to improve his dribbling and shooting, instead of just his jumps. He also did hard work to improve his defensive game.

Well, that just proved to be right as he got the Defensive Player of the Year award. He even was named as the MVP after leading the league in scores and steals, and again the MVP for the All-Star game.

Rise to Stardom

Michael Jordan got a confidence boost when he got new superstar players in the team such as Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Scottie Pippen, and John Paxson. This led them to win the 1991 NBA title after defeating the L.A. Lakers.

They again won the finals in the season after, after defeating the Portland Trailblazers. Then in 1992, Jordan managed to make it to the Dream Team, which was the U.S. first time to include NBA players in their national basketball Olympic team.

This was the dream of all basketball fans as the Olympic Committee decided to lift the ban on having professional athletes in the Olympics.

Final Retirement

Jordan retired in 1999, which was his second time, as he decided to end his career on a high note. Many were disappointed saying that Jordan was a once in a generation player. He then became the president and part owner of the Washington Wizards.

This made him the third black American owner in the NBA. However, he returned to playing in 2001 when he decided to play for the Washington Wizards. He was 38-years-old at that time. He again made it to the All-Star game, but in 2003, decided to finally retire.

Family

Michael Jordan got married to his first wife, Juanita Vanoy, in 1989. Their marriage lasted long as it went on for 17 years. However, the couple separated and got divorced in Dec. 2006. They had three children together, namely, Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmin.

Their divorce was one of the biggest highlights of the news at that time as Michael had to pay $168 million to Juanita as her divorce settlement. Then on April 27, 2013, Michael again married, this time, to a Cuban-American model named Yvette Prieto.

She was 35-years-old at that time. Their marriage took place in Palm Beach, Florida. It was a big-time wedding as famous celebrities like Spike Lee, Tiger Woods, and Patrick Ewing attended.

Then in Feb. 2014, the couple finally had their kids, this time, two twin daughters named Ysabel and Victoria.

Businesses and Other Ventures

Michael Jordan is the richest athlete in the world. However, he didn’t retire this way as he only made just around $90 million after finishing his NBA career. However, his fortune didn’t stop increasing even if he stopped playing professionally since 2003.

One of the reasons for that is because of his legacy and reputation live on. In a report, it was stated that Jordan made around $100 million just from the use of his identity and name in different brands.

All these endorsement deals started when he was just 21-years-old. It was when he signed a five-year contract with Nike which was worth $2.5 million. He then starred in the successful movie, “Space Jam” which made over $200 million worldwide.

Then in 2013, Jordan was reported to make $90 million after Nike made the Air Jordan a separate shoe brand. Specifically speaking, Jordan got around $450 million between 2000 and 2012 just from being affiliated with Nike.

Furthermore, he received $18 million from his Gatorade endorsement and $14 million from Upper Deck. He also got $10 million from cologne brand Xel. He also endorsed other big brands such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Rayovac, and Wheaties, to name a few.

Jordan is also protective of his brand as he sues companies that use his name without his permission.

Net Worth

All of that enabled him to get a dazzling net worth of $1.65 billion, where $350 million of it was just added to his value last year.

Getting to put it on figures, Jordan received a salary contract of $34 million from his final season with the Bulls.

Nike also paid Jordan $500,000 annually for seven years.

After which, Jordan decided to have a stock deal with Nike which added $7 million to his net worth. But those are just small amounts compared to the more than $100 million that the Air Jordan brand earned yearly.

Meanwhile, another $350 million was added to his net worth after he became the owner of Charlotte Hornets.