00:00How's it going fellas, so if someone asks you which NBA players do you think have the most money,
00:05you might think of someone like Michael Jordan, Magic, Shaq, LeBron, or maybe Kobe.
00:11You know, players who are not only superstars but also very successful businessmen.
00:16And this guy I'm gonna talk about, his business had nothing to do with basketball.
00:21This former player has a higher net worth than every other player in NBA history besides MJ
00:27and maybe Magic. His name is Junior Bridgman. His net worth is approximately $600 million,
00:34higher than Shaq, LeBron, and Kobe. But unlike the other players I mentioned,
00:39this guy was never even an all-star in his entire NBA career.
00:43Take a look at his career stats. He seemed like he was just an average player.
00:47The most notable part of his career was that he got drafted by the Lakers and then he was
00:53immediately traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a package for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
00:57So he played in the 1970s and 80s and the highest salary he's ever earned in an NBA season was
01:03only
01:04$350,000. Compare that to players' salaries today and it's ridiculously low, even if you adjust for
01:11inflation. Players like James Harden and Steph Curry recently signed $200 million contracts,
01:17so that makes Bridgman's NBA salary seem like nothing. So how did this former player, Junior
01:23Bridgman, who retired from basketball in 1987 and nobody even knows who he is today, end up having
01:29a higher net worth than all those guys I mentioned earlier? The short answer to that question is one
01:34word, Wendy's. While all of his NBA buddies were chilling and partying in the summer, Bridgman was
01:40working his tail off, learning about business and building his own fast food empire.
01:46Bridgman invested the money he earned from the NBA into purchasing Wendy's restaurants and by the
01:51end of his career, he already owned three Wendy's. He eventually created his own company called
01:57Bridgman Foods Incorporated after he retired and the goal of his business was to own and operate many
02:03different Wendy's around the country. Over time, his company, Bridgman Foods, slowly expanded as
02:09Bridgman worked really hard and his investments were paying off. Everyone today knows that Wendy's is
02:14one of the most popular fast food franchises in the world, and it costs about $1 million on average to
02:21purchase an entire restaurant. But back in the 70s and 80s, it was still new and growing. So Bridgman
02:28made an incredibly smart investment, and now he's swimming in cash. When looking back at his early success
02:34in the food industry, he would be in the kitchen with his employees and manage the restaurant like
02:39it was a basketball team, and making sure everyone worked together as one unit.
02:44Bridgman would also frequently hang out with NBA team owners in his younger days, trying to learn
02:50everything he can about the business world. And he stated that it was an unbelievable education.
02:56His ultimate goal was to build a foundation for his family in the future, so they would never have
03:00to worry about money again. And over the years, Bridgman has done exactly that. As of recently,
03:07he owns over 160 Wendy's and 125 Chili's restaurants, and a bunch of other retail franchises
03:14in the Midwest. He worked his way into becoming the second largest Wendy's franchise owner in the
03:20United States. He reportedly earns over $530 million in annual revenues and has a personal net worth of
03:27over $600 million. And even today, he's still doing business and trying to find the best ways to earn
03:32even more. Recently, he started selling some of his restaurants and signed a major deal with Coca-Cola
03:38to become a distributor for the company. And right now, he operates his own Coca-Cola business with
03:43his son. That's pretty much the story of how this unknown former player became one of the richest in
03:49NBA history. I think it's a good story because it shows that there are other things that athletes can
03:54do after retirement. Instead of just being an analyst or reporter, you don't need to be really
03:59well known to find success in business. According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 60% of NBA
04:07players go broke within 5 years after retirement. And it's mainly because some players do not properly
04:13manage their finances. Junior Bridgman did do that because he wanted a great life after the NBA.
04:20And now, look where he is now.
Comments