Photo Courtesy of Legion Hoops/Twitter
Shaquille O’Neal has been known to be a businessman who gained a lot of revenue from his time in the NBA, partnerships, and numerous businesses he owns entirely and partially.
The former NBA player recently went on Drink Champs and revealed he learned much about running a corporation from “The Dummies’ Guide to Starting Your Own Business” book. Once the Los Angeles Lakers signed him in 1992, Shaq decided to “incorporate” his nickname “Shaq” with the money he earned from the NBA.
He also placed his parents on a salary. He gave his stepfather, Phillip Harrison, a veteran, a $500,000 salary and his mother, Lucille O’Neal, $750,000.
“So, [the] first thing I did was incorporate ‘Shaq,’ and then I put my mom on salary and put my dad on salary,” Shaq explained. “And you know, we had a fan club. I got ’em an office and got ’em a car, and they were so proud. Cause the best day of my life was when I got drafted. My parents like, ‘Congratulations, love you.’ Cause you know my dad [is] hardcore. ‘See you later. Don’t lose your money.’ He wanted to stay on the Army base. ‘Like, Nah, come with me.’ [He replied], ‘Nope’ [I asked], ‘How much you make in the Army?’ [He said], ‘I only make $60,000.’ [I told him], ‘Now you making half a million a year.’ [He said], ‘What?’ He started crying.”
The mogul also stated that he wanted to teach his parents about business. He also said that he taught his sons to earn their salaries by going into business with their father.
“It’s not about the team. It’s about…you have to have discipline, and everything has to be structured,” he said. “So, I don’t have boys…my boys work for me. We get money together. Instead of me giving you $100.000, we could start a company, and we could do certain things. You could bring it in that way to put them on salary like, start a company, put them on salary, write that off, get some back rather than just give them the money.”