Magic Johnson attained fame due to his legendary contribution to the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. The five-time NBA champ was one of the best point guards in the league known for his triple-double consistency. However, Johnson also managed to affect a lot of lives positively due to his contributions off the court. Magic’s NBA career took a sudden turn after he was diagnosed with HIV in 1991. Despite losing his spot in the NBA, Magic Johnson remained positive and pursued some of his crucial dreams off the court. However, Johnson was still dragged through the mud in 1995 even after attaining millionaire status and winning five NBA titles.

Three and a half years after his first retirement, Magic Johnson featured in an interview in 1995. During the interview, he talked about fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a businessman someday. Apart from being a part owner of the Lakers and playing exhibition games, Magic also worked on bringing stable employment opportunities to the people of the Black community. Johnson created jobs for the people of the African American community by building shopping malls and movie theatres. However, the interview also revealed a shocking opinion of Magic Johnson from a construction worker at one of the Lakers legend’s construction sites.

Construction worker gave honest opinion on Magic Johnson

According to a resurfaced clip of the 1995 interview posted by a basketball page on YouTube, Magic Johnson’s development corporation built 12 theatres in an African American neighborhood in LA that suffered a great deal of damage as a result of brutal riots. Magic Johnson partnered up with Sony to invest $7.5 million in the construction project. In addition, the project intended to provide employment to people from work deprived African-American communities.

During the interview, one construction worker was asked about his opinion on Magic Johnson before he started building the theatres. The reporter asked the worker, “What did you think about him before he started making these theatres and what do you think about him now?”

The construction crew member responded by saying, “Before Magic started building these theatres? I didn’t give two shakes from a rat’s rectum about him. And that’s because he’s a face on the poster. If a person is gonna be a hero, he has to be touchable, he has to be seeable, I have to be able to reach him.”

The worker reckoned that he did not care enough about who Magic was because he just knew him as a star on the poster. However, when Magic provided the people with jobs, they felt touched by his presence. Later on, the same construction worker stated, “Magic will live here forever here, he’s touched everybody here, he’s just not some face on a poster now. Now Magic becomes a hero because he lived up to his word.”

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Thus, despite winning big in the NBA, Magic was not able to leave a mark on the people of his community, who lacked job opportunities. However, when the 12-time All-Star brought opportunities to his people, he earned love and respect in their eyes. Meanwhile, the construction projects with Sony were just the start of Magic’s journey to establish himself as a business magnate and build a massive fortune.

Magic Johnson’s net worth and investments

After his successful association with Sony, Magic Johnson traveled to Seattle to convince the then-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to invest in the African American community. Fortunately, the three-time Finals MVP convinced Schultz into making an unbelievable deal. The commitment allowed Magic to open 125 Starbucks cafes in 40 markets across the African American neighborhoods.

Moreover, Magic Johnson made some smart investments in lucrative business ventures that have earned him a fortune of $620 million. At the end of his career, Magic had earned merely $40 million from the NBA. However, he managed to grow his fortunes massively by investing in movie theatres, malls, Starbucks, Burger King, EquiTrust Insurance, and 24 Hours Fitness. Apart from these ventures, Johnson invested heavily in sports.

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