Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is a billionaire today, and he didn’t become one by being careless with his money. James is, in fact, known to be somewhat of a cheapskate, and he once spoke about how his uncles programmed him to save money from a young age on the Kneading Dough series.
“They was my savings account,” James said. “They taught me how to have a savings account. So, if they give me a dollar, they’d be like, ‘Listen, nephew, go ahead and spend 35 cents of it and keep the other 65.’ Or if they gave me two dollars, they’d be like, ‘Go ahead and spend a dollar of it, but stash the other dollar.’
“So, I’m always in my head about stashing,” James added. “Like, keeping my money sacred and to myself. Because I didn’t know when my uncle was going to give me another dollar here or another 50 cents here. So, I’ve always kind of had that closure about my finances.”
That’s certainly the kind of lesson you want to teach to a youngster, especially one who was growing up poor. James’ family wasn’t well off, but he managed to drag them out of poverty in some style.
James officially became a billionaire, according to Forbes, in 2022. The 40-year-old remains the only NBA player to have accomplished that feat during his playing career.
Despite James’ wealth surging greatly over time, he has remained hesitant to spend money in certain areas. His former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, Kevin Love, once revealed that he wouldn’t turn on data roaming in Toronto and only used the hotel WiFi. James has also hilariously admitted to being the cheapest player in the NBA.
All that said, it’s not like James shies away from spending money when he feels there is a need to do so. For the longest time, there existed a wild rumor that he spent $1 million a year on his body.
James debunked that rumor earlier this year, but also made it clear that he does invest in his body. The 21-time All-Star utilizes facilities such as hyperbaric chambers, but he doesn’t go overboard with his spending.
Whatever James has done has helped him remain a dominant force in the NBA for over two decades. That, in turn, has meant he has raked in more money than anyone else in the league.
James will have made $581 million in salaries after the end of the 2025-26 season. Despite that, he recently joked about being broke and claimed that his net worth is way less than what’s reported.
Forbes currently has James’ net worth at $1.3 billion. With their track record, there is good reason to believe that the net worth is around that number.
