“I Could Be Jealous without Hating”: Hip Hop’s First Billionaire Jay-Z and Rap Legend Dr. Dre Inspired Shaquille O’Neal into Living His Lavish Lifestyle

Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal may have left behind his playing days behind him. But that doesn’t stop him from making noise in the world post-retirement. Specifically by making moves and climbing up the ladder in the business world. As dominant as Shaq was in the league, he looks to be the same when it comes down to business.

O’Neal is a smart investor. He owns multiple restaurant chains and is a part of many other businesses. Apart from the many advertisements, we get to see on TV, Shaq is a stakeholder in, if not the owner of, many companies.

Shaquille O’Neal and his empire off the court

Many NBA players end up having financial problems after their careers end, but the same is not applicable for Shaq. NBA players are known to have expensive tastes and live an extravagant lifestyle. However, O’Neal, instead of trying to live it large after his career came to a close, started investing in people, their ideas, and businesses.

On the show DrinkChamps, Shaquille O’Neal sat down with rapper N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN discussing various things about his career, business ventures, and more. So N.O.R.E. asked Shaq why he saw people like Nas, Jay-Z, and even O’Neal living a lavish and luxurious lifestyle after the game. And Shaq told him that he got all of that from them. 

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The conversation started with O’Neal mentioning what Jeff Bezos said, “If you invest in things that are going to change people’s lives, you will always get the proper return on your money.” And that’s when Shaq mentioned how he saw hip-hop legends Jay-Z and Dr. Dre making big moves in the business world.

O’Neal told the hosts that he ran into Jay-Z at one of the Golden State Warriors games and they paid respect to each other for the things they were doing in the world of business.

O’Neal and his inspiration to make it even larger

Shaq told the hosts that it’s respect but it’s also a competition thing. He said, “I could be jealous without hating.” Subsequently, the four-time NBA champion explained how he saw rappers make deals and he would always try to emulate them. The Big Aristotle explained how he saw big names like Jay-Z and Nas started investing in certain firms, and he tried to follow in their footsteps.

It was something that drove Shaq to do better and make it even bigger than he is now. Currently, O’Neal has a net worth of over $400 million.

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He owns multiple business ventures which include car washes, restaurants, dealerships, and so much more. So it seems like we know where Shaq gets his ideas to expand his empire.