Michael Jordan knows you don’t have to be in the game to still be the best at it. And though he gave up hoops decades ago he’s still been amassing wealth.
Forbes Magazine, who keeps a tally on who has the most money in the US, released the annual Forbes 400 list, and Michaels hefty $3 billion bank account has landed him on the list for the first time.
His sale of the Charlotte Hornets in a deal worth $3b was what pushed him over into 400 status.
Every year Forbes finds out who in the US is holding the biggest bags and reports it. They use 400 because in turn of the century US the most prominant family, the Astors, would invite the most important people in high society to an annual ball at their home, which held 400 guests. So Forbes honors that tradition each year with a list.
The cutoff for this year’s list climbed to a record $2.9 billion (up from $2.1 billion last year), knocking 51 people off the list. That includes Oprah and her paltry $2.6b, Jean Paul Dejoria (owner of Paul Mitchell hair) and his $2.8b, and Ted Turner who founded CNN and TNT and a bunch of other things.