Inside LeBron James’ lavish lifestyle – NBA’s first active billionaire player

 Business Insider wrote that LeBron James was well on his way to becoming a billion-dollar athlete. Fast forward to the present, King James is the only active NBA player to record a career earnings of $1 billion – a rather presentable excuse for us to quickly (or, not so quickly) take you through the many luxuries of the billion-dollar dunker. According to the Sportico, James earned $330 million in playing salary since getting drafted in 2003, while bringing in a whopping $700 million through endorsements, merchandise, licensing and media.

Part of one of the biggest ever endorsement deals, in late 2015, LeBron James signed a lifetime endorsement deal with Nike worth more than $1 billion – one that draws him $30 million, annually. Thanks to his towering earnings in 2021, James also secured the 5th spot on Forbes’ Highest-paid athletes list, with annual drawings of $96.5 million.

LeBron James’s sick rides

1. Three Ferraris

A Ferrari 599, Ferrari 458 Spider and a Ferrari F430 Spider bring an Italian touch to LeBron James’ stellar collection of fast cars. LeBron James and his Ferrari F430 Spider were featured in a 2008 episode of “Unique Whips,” a television show about celebrities and their cars. Interestingly, the vehicle was customized to fit LeBron’s 6’8″ frame. James’ Ferrari was also on the episode of “Unique Whips” a show featuring a garage that specialises in modifying celebrity cars.  

2. Super cars: Dodge Challenger SRT and a Lamborghini Aventador

LeBron’s Dodge Challenger SRT, scathing the feisty red and black finish, was painted in silver, with blue stripes, in support of the Dallas Cowboys, his favourite football team, in America, of course. In the Premier League, James is loyal to Liverpool. Along with the Dodge Challenger, James also owns a custom designed Lamborghini Aventador. Per Business Insider, James had the car wrapped to match one of his lines of Nike kicks, the LeBron James X1 “King’s Pride” floral shoes.

3. Luxury sedans: Two Maybachs and a Rolls Royce

Along with fast cars, James also loves to ride the luxury of sedans. His collection features two Mercedes-Benz Maybachs – Maybach 57 S and 2018 Maybach S650 (a coupe). The former, reportedly, has a number plate that reads “KING OF OH”, paying homage to his time at the Cleveland Cavaliers. A Rolls Royce Phantom joined the clan too, but as a birthday present from Shaquille O’Neal, per ESPN.

LeBron James’ Mansions – one of the snazziest property portfolios among sports stars

1. A manic Beverly Hills mansion

This recent property splurge, worth $36.7 million, was being rumoured for quite sometime in the news. Mainly for two reasons: 1. It belonged to late soap opera icons Bill and Lee Phillip Bell and 2. LeBron James was interested in buying it. A sprawling compound made up of at least 4 structures that come in near 10,000 square feet in total, a fabulous view of Los Angeles, vaulted ceilings, screening rooms, 7 fireplaces, and so much more.

2. One of the biggest mansions in Ohio

LeBron James’ Ohio home is actually one of the most expensive homes in the country, as reported by Cleveland.com, citing a research by Summit County. The mansion sprawls across 5,934 square feet ground floor living area and 30,745 total square feet living area. Built in about 2007, it has 20 total rooms with two family rooms, six bedrooms, 10 full bathrooms, six half bathrooms, a full basement and four fireplaces.

3. Two LA Homes

Image: Trulia

In 2017, Architectural Digest reported that LeBron James purchased a swanky new $23 million home in Brentwood, LA. This was the basketball forward’s second mansion in Los Angeles, California. His first one, per Variety, is another snazzy $21 million property spread across around 9,000 square feet.

An Audemars Piguet watch designed just for LeBron James

When you’re getting a watch custom-designed for you, it is obvious who is calling the shots on the design and colour combinations. To put things in perspective, while having custom-design sneakers is common – LeBron has his own line with Nike – the watch market is a slightly stringent with their custom offerings. But, for James, Audemars Piguet, in 2013, launched the Royal Oak Offshore, which has zero to none basketball or any of James’ team colour references, but boasts a rather unique and hard-to-think-of combination, featuring grey and pink gold.