Being the only active player in league history to reach billionaire status, LeBron James is still cautious. Coming from projects in Akron, Ohio, and raised by a single mother, there were a lot of hardships for the now Los Angeles Lakers superstar. Even today, he continues to take an approach where his financial risk is limited. That’s why he even previously had stern advice for his wife, Savannah James.

The couple has been together since high school and married in September 2013, and now share three children together: Bronny, 21, Bryce Maximus, 18, and Zhuri Nova, 10. Speaking about their relationship, family, and even the finances, the 4x NBA champion said, “It’s hard for me sometimes to take risks.” The main kicker when LeBron added about feeling “devastated” if he had to start over financially. That’s when even LeBron’s financial advisor is not safe.

“My financial adviser, the first thing I told him when he wanted to manage my money was if you steal my money, bro, or if I’m broke, bro, I’m letting you know, bro, it ain’t going to be good for you“. Growing his empire while still being vigilant of his spending is a rare trait in any celebrity. That was the only financial advice King James had previously given to his queen.

During last week’s episode of her podcast, Everybody’s Crazy, Savannah James opened up to her friend and co-host April McDaniel about her spending habits. “When have I felt like I needed to budget? So, first of all, I don’t spend money. That’s it. I’m very um I’m not frugal by any means, but I feel like I’m very aware, like yes, when [ __ ] is getting out of hand, like I was actually told by my husband from you know, a meeting that he had that I actually need to relax,“ she said.

During that conversation, the mother of 3 agreed, sometimes making “crazy” purchases. But believes that she only spends when necessary. An approach that we understood through LeBron’s POV. He added, “I swear to God, I’m really like that, because I can’t start over. There’s no way. None of us sitting here can start over. I’m not Monopoly-ing this. I’m not starting back at, ‘Pass go and you collect $200 to start back at go,’ No, too far gone at this.” 

So it’s clear that despite their wealth and spending power, the power couple is very cautious about how they spend. Owing to their respective backgrounds in Akron, where they came from. As stated before, LeBron was raised by a single mother, while Savannah grew up in a working-class family alongside her 4 siblings.

LeBron James disowns his wealth with a clever answer

Entering the league in the historic 23rd year, by now, everyone is aware of the NBA contracts of the Akron native. Just this year, he opted into his $52.6 million player contract. For a period of 11 straight years, James had been the NBA’s top earner. His off-court income is also no less. The report from Sportico added that LeBron’s overall earnings for the 24-25 season stood at a whopping $133.7 million from salaries and off-court incomes. Despite this public information, the Lakers‘ superstar denied such reports.

In fact, the 40-year-old made an appearance on Complex’s 360 With Speedy, and it was there that he addressed how much money he truly has.”It’s less. It’s way less. It’s a couple of thousand in my bank. I got a couple thousand. That’s it,” he said. Even adding that Google and Forbes report of $1.3 billion is a lie. Naturally, LeBron James won’t keep his entire wealth in a bank account. So, it was clever of him to duck the answer. Because any contractual negotiation involving the superstar is out in the open.

He has inked several multiple nine-figure contracts. Not to forget his lucrative branding deals with Nike, PepsiCo, and Beats by Dre. He then shifted the entire focus to his kids and their NIL deals and concluded by calling himself broke. “I ain’t got no money, man. My kids got all the money now. NILs (name, image and likeness rights) and s—. They got all the money. They take care of Dad now. I’m broke,” he added.