Shaquille O’Neal attends the second preseason NBA recreation between Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks at Etihad Arena on October 8, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. “If you invest in things, it’s going to change people’s lives, you will definitely get a nice return,” the earlier NBA star recalled Bezos sharing in a tech convention in Vegas.
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NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal shared an funding principle he heard from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, which he says has impressed his method ever since.
“I was at a tech conference in Vegas and I heard the great Jeff Bezos say ‘If you invest in things, it’s going to change people’s lives,’ you will definitely get a nice return,” he recalled, talking CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in Abu Dhabi Sunday.
O’Neal added his personal ten cents: “Never think about the monetary aspect … it’s not important to me.”
“It’s basically based off one principle — belief. [Do] you believe in the product? Is it gonna change people’s lives? … That’s what it is about for me,” he added.
Since retiring from his 19-year basketball profession in 2011, O’Neal has seen success off the courtroom.
The 50-year-old was an early investor in Google and has since gathered a various portfolio, together with investments in Apple, proudly owning 17 Auntie Anne’s, 40 gyms and over a hundred Five Guys restaurants. He additionally based his personal quick meals chain Big Chicken.
Can’t compete with Bezos
Just final week, the NBA Hall-Of-Famer stated his investing inspiration had “scared” him away from his plans to make a bid for the possession of the Phoenix Suns.
“You can’t compete with Jeff Bezos. I was very interested. My group was very interested,” he stated.
Bezos is certainly one of a number of billionaires reportedly contemplating a bid for the Suns, according to ESPN.
The Suns franchise is presently price $1.Eight billion and will promote for not less than $2.5 billion, in keeping with a Forbes report.
When requested about what funding tasks pique the curiosity of the basketballer-turned-investor, O’Neal admitted that he will get “a lot of things on [his] desk every day.”
“Everybody wants a piece of you … And most of it we turn down,” he stated.
However, O’Neal added that the choice to inject funds normally goes by means of when the vast majority of his funding panel greenlights an concept.
“You go to the panel first. If it goes to the panel and four out of five people like it, we do it,” he stated, emphasizing once more that he doesn’t let the financial facet of issues cloud his choices.
Controversies surrounding NBA in China
Teams enjoying through the basketball semifinals at Datun Village Basketball Arena in Leping township, Guizhou Province, China, Aug 2, 2022. When requested concerning the controversies concerning the NBA being in China, Shaquille O’Neal admitted that it bothers him.
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The dispute between China and the basketball league sparked in 2019, when then Houston Rockets govt Daryl Morey shared an image in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. The put up led to video games being pulled off air, and Chinese corporations withdrawing sponsorship from the league.
“I know in China, they really love basketball,” O’Neal stated.
“And I also know for a fact that, despite what’s going on in the world, there’s two things that will always calm people down — sports and music.”