Losing $60,000 Jewelry ‘Forced’ Millionaire Shaquille O’Neal to Make a Major Lifestyle Change

It looks like Shaquille O’Neal liked flashy stuff when he was younger, but that came back to bite him. He used to have a risky habit of buying whatever he liked. The former Los Angeles Lakers star elaborated on the time he lost a $60,000 pair of earrings right after getting them.

In his recent YouTube episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, he recollected the valuable lesson he learned. He claimed, “I do wear fake earrings… No you shouldn’t buy fake stuff but let me tell you why. My first week in Orlando me, D Scott, we go to the International Diamond Exchange. And I buy just like $60,000 Allen Iverson [earrings]. Boom take a picture stabs from my ear. I lost that m*****f****r from the store to the car. I don’t know. No I had them in the bag. I couldn’t find them. So I always said to myself I will never buy real diamond earrings again.”

In the NBA, stories like Shaquille O’Neal’s earring loss are common. Indulging young basketball players with huge amounts of money with little oversight leads to this outcome. He learnt his lesson and chose not to spend the funds on that kind of expensive jewelry again.

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Many NBA players look up to Shaq as an example of how to get rich while playing the game, as he is one of the richest NBA stars of all time. He has amassed wealth despite coming from a low-income family thanks to his legendary 19-year NBA career. Undoubtedly, he has a penchant for frivolous spending. But the TNT analyst is quick to lend money to anybody who needs it.

One time, Shaquille O’Neal bought an engagement ring for a guy

The former NBA Center had promised his late dad that he would provide for his whole family, but being the kind guy that he is, Shaq also lends a hand to others in need.

Shaq went into a store a few years ago, planning to buy a pair of hoop earrings. The 15x All-Star bought an engagement ring for another guy when he was in the Atlanta shop, as you can see in the linked video up here. Fans like Shaq for reasons like these, which include acts of kindness. Not only that, he also helped a couple in Dallas a couple of years ago.

The 4x NBA champion bought a random couple a new washing machine and a 70-inch TV. We’ve all heard the stories about how Shaq spent a ton of money quickly. “Superman” has become a lot more careful in his handling of funds throughout the last few years.

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