Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s 13-year NBA run with the Los Angeles Lakers was just the beginning for his longstanding career off the court. The 6’9”, 220-pound point guard—who won five NBA championships and a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona—now juggles a plethora of business ventures from health centers to urban development projects. As the Chief Executive Officer of Magic Johnson Enterprises, the Lansing, Michigan native has been able to provide jobs as well as goods and services to minorities throughout the country with his lofty endeavors. The 52-year-old has also transformed the face of HIV since revealing his contraction of the disease more than 20 years ago.
Once the basketball hall-of-famer realized his potential beyond the game, he created a plan for life off the court: build wealth, develop a series of lucrative partnerships and pass on the benefits for future generations. “Our mindset needs to change when we think about material things,” he told Black Enterprise in a 2010 interview. “We want to be hip and cool; we want to have 20 cars. Young people look up to people like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, but their role models should be people like Ken Chenault. They don’t realize he’s much more powerful and will make more money than them for years because he won’t have to retire early like pro athletes do.” In light of Johnson’s recent minority stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, BlackEnterprise.com figured now was the time to Decode the business of Magic.
