World-famous retired American basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr., was born on 14 August 1959, in Lansing, Michigan, and is known particularly for playing exclusively for the Los Angeles Lakers during his 17-year active and semi-active playing career from 1979 to 1996.
So just how rich is Magic Johnson, as of mid-2017? Authoritative sources estimate that Magic’s net worth is an impressive $650 millions, the main source being his career as a professional basketball player, although his net worth still grows as he is involved in business, including having released several instructional books.
Magic Johnson Net Worth $650 Million
Magic Johnson became interested in basketball at a very young age. His favorite players were Earl Monroe, Bill Russell and Marques Haynes, and Magic trained very hard to be like them, and soon became one of the best players in school. However, not all his memories from high school are pleasant ones, as when attending the Everett High School he experienced bullying and racism. Johnson then studied communications at Michigan State University, where he continued playing basketball and improving his skills, leading the team to win the Big Ten Conference title in 1978, and the NCAA title in ’79 with Magic voted the MVP.
In 1979 Johnson began his professional career selected first in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, which had a huge impact on both the start and the growth of Magic Johnson’s net worth.
Regardless of his successful performances, Magic was not able to avoid injuries, and in 1980 he was not able to play for several months after a knee cartilage injury. After his recovery, Magic signed a $25 million contract, supposedly covering 25 years!
Details of Magic’s playing career are too numerous to mention all of them, but overall during his playing career Magic played over 1100 games, scored over 19,000 points averaging 19.5 per game; won five NBA Championships with the Lakers (MVP three times); and was nine times an NBA First Team selection, one of the most impressive basketball careers on record. Inevitably, he won numerous awards too, including NBA Rookie, winning the Championship and named MVP in the series and to the All-Star Game all in his first year – a hard act to follow! – NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Assists Leader, NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, also being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 1991, out of the blue Johnson announced that he had HIV – the result of casual sex – followed by declaring his retirement as a basketball player, but despite this fact, Magic was asked to play in the 1992 Summer Olympics, where his other teammates included Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley, all members of ‘the Dream Team” which won the gold medal.
Magic coached the Lakers for half a season in 1993, and returned successfully as a player in the 1995-96 season, then retired again, although in 1999 Johnson had an opportunity to play in the Swedish team “M7 Boras” for a short period of time, but then played basketball more rarely. Magic became more involved in business, even creating his own record label. He also has a company called “Magic Johnson Enterprises”, being involved in many businesses over the years, including being one of a group of investors that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team in 2012, and the Los Angeles Sparks womens basketball team in 2014, certainly adding to his net worth.
To talk about Johnson’s personal life, he had a son with Melissa Mitchell in 1981, who now works for Magic’s Enterprises. In 1991 he married Earlitha Kelly; they have three children, and reside in Dana Point, California.
