NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal needs little to no introduction. While millions around the world are well-versed in his basketball exploits, the Los Angeles Lakers legend is also a very successful businessman. Although he is a wise business mogul with a $400 million net worth currently, he wasn’t always like that. Big Shaq spent a lot on cars, houses, and other luxuries one could imagine when he was still young.

On a recent appearance on CBS Texas, the NBA Hall of Famer talked about one of his houses in Dallas. Interestingly, he mentioned how he smartly invested in the house instead of just splashing money.

Shaquille O’Neal saved a lot of money by investing smartly

A young Shaquille O’Neal once spent a major chunk of his first paycheck in one day. He once had a Rolls Royce race with boxing legend Mike Tyson.

The two sporting icons visited a Rolls Royce dealership together and Iron Mike bought three cars! While Shaq was not going to spend on three Rolls Royces, he certainly wasn’t going to back off.

So, what do you think Shaq did that day? 

Shaq being Shaq, he goes ahead and buys two cars that day!

And for obvious reasons, this led to an earful from his business manager!

The days of financial stupidity are over for Shaq. Now that he is older, more mature and dedicated to his family. O’Neal now spends wisely.

With his Dallas home, he has a normal mansion as he lives alone. He hardly spends time in Dallas. Thanks to his smart investment, the four-time NBA champion ended up saving around nine to ten million on a house.

During the interview, O’Neal said, “I have a little small house in Carrollton. You know, I’m much smarter with the finances now so I get to Dallas probably four or five times a year so it didn’t make sense to spend nine, ten million for a house, five-bedroom. It’s just me by myself. “

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Shaq is a completely different person right now. He has multiple ventures under his belt which contribute to his huge net worth apart from his salary from TNT.

Shaq was in debt because of this financial blunder

Shaquille O’Neal was consistently one of the highest-paid players in the league. For that reason, the Lakers legend had to pay a huge tax as well. 

He once received a cheque of $1 million dollars, but half of it had already gone to taxes. However, O’Neal didn’t have this thought in mind and he ended up spending all of it. By the end of the day, he realized he was $500,000 in debt!

Thankfully, the Hall of Famer is a much wiser person now and mistakes like these probably will not occur again.

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What is your favorite memory of Shaquille O’Neal? Let us know in the comments below.