NBA star LeBron James continues to pursue his post-retirement goals. While still playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, James has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures that are multiplying his money.
One of his first purchases was a 2% stake in Liverpool FC with business partner Maverick Carter for $6.5 million in 2011. However, the NBA legend recently relinquished his shares for a stake in FSG, together with business partners Carter and Paul Wachter. According to Liverpool.com, James currently owns approximately 1% of FSG.
In 2018, he became the first active NBA player to reach the billion-dollar mark. The four-time NBA champion also owns TV and movie firm SpringHill Entertainment, which helped develop “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” a film in which he appeared that grossed $163 million worldwide.
In 2015, James walked away from a McDonald’s endorsement deal for an estimated $15 million over four years to invest in the fast-growing Blaze Pizza franchise. He’s also invested in Tonal, a smart gym company, and Lyft, the ridesharing giant.
The NBA star is taking his commercial prowess to the cosmetics sector with The Shop Collection, a new male grooming line planned to debut in April, according to Cosmetics commercial.
The platform drew inspiration from James’ successful TV talk program “The Shop,” where he and guests discuss sports, music, and pop culture in barbershops. The show, which currently has six seasons, has featured guests such as Snoop Dogg, Drake, and David Beckham.
The Shop line offers a variety of grooming products for men, including shampoo, facial lotion, deep-conditioning beard cream, conditioner, shave cream, face wash, aftershave-toner, and styling pomade, according to Cosmetic Business.
Furthermore, it will be available in 1,600 Walmart shops across the United States, with pricing starting at around $10, according to the site. The collection was produced in collaboration with beauty producer Parlux and James and Carter’s multimedia brand, The Springhill Company.
James is one of many celebrities that have entered the beauty industry. Beyonce debuted a hair care brand on February 20. Tracee Ellis Ross has developed Pattern, a natural hair brand that caters to “curl conscious and textured” clientele.
More and more Blacks and people of color are entering the beauty profession in the United States, but data reveals that equity remains a concern.According to McKinsey, despite spending $6.6 billion on beauty, Black Americans only account for 11.1% of the overall beauty market in the United States.
According to the report, Black beauty businesses “capture only 2.4 percent of revenue in the overall beauty market, lagging far behind the 11.1 percent of the Black consumer spend on beauty products, and the 12.4 percent of Black people in the U.S. population.”