Shaquille O’Neal has always been a larger-than-life figure, so when the big man made it to the NBA, how he would spend the first of his millions is a question that a lot of people will have wondered about. And in typical generous Shaq fashion, the story is quite wholesome and has to do with his parents.
Shaq was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992 as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, meaning that he had a million dollars to spend in his first year in the league. As can be expected of a 20-year-old, he immediately went and got himself a new car, but that led to some circumstances he hadn’t predicted and taught him valuable lessons about how to manage his money. He shared the whole hilarious story in an interview with GQ.
“When I got my first million dollars, I spent it! Because I had to pay my family back. First of all, I gotta get that black-on-black Benz for me. I’m riding through Newark, I’m letting these motherf***ers know, ‘Hey, I made it.’
“So when I get back to the crib, my dad says “where’s mine at”? So the Benz just cost 150k. A million minus 150k? In my mind, I got 850k left. So me and him, we jump in the car and went back to see the car dealer. I saw he had two in the black, and we had him bring the other out for my dad. I write the check. So now I got 700k left.
“We go home and my mom’s a little jealous so we say, “You know what, come get in the car.” So my dad and my mom are in his car, I’m in my car, and we get her the smaller one, it’s about 100k. I had no financial experience. I was very immature, I knew nothing. So then I go get some ice, suits, whatever, chains. So I do all of that—and a couple of days later I get a call from the bank.”
After spending quite a bit of his money in this way, Shaq realized that he still had to put aside a fair bit of it for taxes and fees of that sort, and he would go on to use that as a lesson that helped him learn how to invest and grow his money.
He would still spend without worrying too much later in life, as he did when he first came to LA and spent $9 million in a day. However, Shaquille O’Neal is now worth an estimated $400 million, so it’s safe to say that he did well for himself and can buy as many more cars as he likes, and pretty much anything else he wants also!
