Michael Jordan is the world’s richest athlete. In fact, he was the first sports star to ever become a billionaire! This achievement can’t be overestimated – especially when you consider that there are only a handful of black billionaires to this day. It’s for this reason why the basketball legend remains a huge source of inspiration for people all over the world.
Money, however, is only one way to measure success.
If you put Jordan’s $2.1 billion fortune to one side, you are still left with a man who reached incredible heights – quite literally – during a basketball career that spanned several decades. Known as ‘Air Jordan’ for his jaw-dropping slam dunks, Jordan captured the imagination of sports fans during his famed tenure on the court.
So, how did Jordan propel himself into the annals of both sport and pop culture history? Let’s go back to the start.
Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 17th 1963. The East Coast upbringing briefly shielded Jordan and his family from the harsher degrees of racism experienced in other parts of the country, but the city’s high crime rate caused his parents to move their brood to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1968. The streets were safer but racism was certainly more rife there. In the state there were a huge number of people who participated in activities organised by the Ku Klux Klan.
It’s hard to know exactly how many racist incidents Jordan and his family were forced to persevere through during his childhood. However, there were enough that they shaped his life and his attitude towards inequality.
For instance, during one incident Jordan was actually thrown out of school after retaliating to racist taunts from a female student. During an interview with the Chicago Tribune in 1992, he explained:
“I just felt I had to express my displeasure with her for using that word.”
Jordan was fortunately able to develop his talent for sports during his school years, demonstrating a level of athletic ability that allowed him to stand out when playing football, baseball and, of course, basketball. His skillset in the latter was so impressive that it was more than enough to land him a basketball scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981.
This gave Jordan the perfect platform to become the megastar that he’d go on to be. After proving himself to be a standout, it soon became clear that he was capable of turning professional. This became a reality when he was drafted to the Chicago Bulls in 1984. This would be the start of Jordan’s amazing 15-season stint with the National Basketball Association.
Playing shooting guard, Jordan became a staple of the Chicago Bulls. In just a matter of years the team became contenders to win the prestigious NBA Finals. This championship victory eventually happened in 1991. Jordan was named the Most Valuable Player, not just of the Finals but also of the entire season.
Jordan would go on to prove that he was far from a flash in the pan. Championships followed immediately in the years 1992 and 1993. The so-called ‘three-peat’ was enough to catapult Jordan to the status of a global icon. He would quickly go on to pick up a number of major endorsements, as well as star in films such as Space Jam in 1996. Let’s not forget that he also made it to a further three NBA Finals!
The huge celebrity status earned Jordan enormous wealth. Anyone who wants to best understand his character perhaps needs to only look at the manner if which he’s spent his money. As the world’s fourth richest African American (behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, and Oprah Winfrey) he’s become a philanthropist of sorts – with a sizeable amount of his bank balance going towards projects that uplift his race and eliminate inequality.
In 2019, he explained what drives him to donate such huge amounts of money. During a chat with presenter Craig Melvin on NBC’s Today, he said:
“My purpose for doing it is because I see a certain need. I feel a certain warmth about it. If I feel like I’m making a difference, that’s all that matters to me.”
He added:
“I give for the sake of giving, not to advertise or not to promote.”
Jordan’s made donations to such organisations as the Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He’s also donated $5 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Jordan – who retired from playing professional basketball in 2003 and his since gone on to own his own team, the Charlotte Hornets – clearly isn’t finished when it comes to his outstanding acts of generosity. He accepts that the cash is making a ‘positive difference’ but realises that more money and effort is needed to tackle the burdens that still restrict African Americans.
In an editorial published by The Undefeated, he recently wrote:
“Although I know these contributions alone are not enough to solve the problem, I hope the resources will help both organizations make a positive difference.”
It isn’t, however, just money that Jordan uses to better the opportunity of his community. Instead, he’s often an uplifting voice in times of need and strife. This was witnessed most recently after the death of George Floyd in May 2020. With tensions boiling over, Jordan called for society to ‘be better’.
In an interview with the Charlotte Observer, he said: “We have been beaten down [as African Americans] for so many years. It sucks your soul. You can’t accept it anymore. This is a tipping point. We need to make a stand. We’ve got to be better as a society regarding race.”
Jordan is now 57-years-old. With an illustrious professional basketball career behind him and a seemingly limitless ability to improve the standing of race relations in the United States, it’s clear that he’ll be remembered fondly for his actions both on and off the court by the time all’s said and done.