Inside Shaquille O’Neal’s $400 million business empire from grocery franchises to 24-hour gyms

With a reported net worth of around $400 million, Shaquille O’Neal has built an impressive business empire.

The 50-year-old NBA Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champion has a portfolio that ranges from restaurants to gyms and more.

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Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in 2019, O’Neal said his first major investment was in Google.

But that wasn’t his first investment.

He explained that he had made many smaller investments before, and many people told him, “You give me $100,000 and I’ll give you a million in a year.” I’ve done a lot of things like that that never worked out.”

O’Neal said many of his business ventures stemmed from being in the right place at the right time, explaining that his ability is: “If something comes on my desk and I don’t believe in it, [I] won’t even look at it.”

He went on to say, “When I do business, it’s never about the monetary aspect, it’s about making a difference in people’s lives.”

Take, for example, his role as Carnival Cruise Ship’s “Chief Fun Officer,” which he said he “wanted to be like, ‘Hey, you don’t know what’s on this ship, I do. Let me show you. let me tell you . And by the way [it’s] unexpensive.'”

That partnership with Carnival has led to another between the ships and its Big Chicken restaurant chain, which the entrepreneur says now has ten locations.

Not that Big Chicken is O’Neal’s only foray into the food world, as he also owns Krispy Kreme franchises, seventeen Auntie Anne’s Pretzel locations, and nine Papa John’s franchises — as well as serving on the board of directors.

O’Neal also used to own 155 Five Guys franchises, but in 2018 he told CNBC he sold them a few years earlier.

He also told CNBC that he recently invested in home security company Ring after installing their products in his new home in Atlanta, Georgia.

According to Front Office Sports, O’Neal has also previously invested in Reebok, VitaminWater and Lyft, while telling Earn Your Leisure in 2021: “I don’t like to come across as bragging, but I’d like to ask you a question place. Who Owns Marilyn Monroe? Who Owns Elvis Presley? Who owns Forever 21? Who owns JCPenney?

Add those with his “150 car washes, 40 24-hour fitness centers, a mall, a movie theater, and several nightclubs in Las Vegas,” according to NBC Sports, and it’s safe to say that O’Neal isn’t doing too badly for himself even eleven years after his NBA retirement.

O’Neal, who is also an NBA analyst for TNT, has had several other endorsements and deals over the years – the true number of which probably only the man himself knows.

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