01/20/2025
Shaquille O' Neal explains how he helped his close friends make big money: "I got the idea after I saw Scarface." Shaq kept his friends close and helped them start businesses, helping them with their businesses and therefore growing their empire.
Shaq had a tremendous career in the NBA, and even after that, he was able to increase his wealth by making wise and wise decisions about how to spend and invest his money. In his book "Shaq Talks Back," Shaq explains his process of helping his close friends after becoming a millionaire and one of the NBA's most famous players.
▪️ "Now, I admit, I've let some of my boys use me, somehow, to get where they want to go in life." I told them, 'When all is over, all will be over. Y'all going to make big money. You're going to meet some of the people I know who will have great opportunities in life." If you want to start a business, I could help you. But by the time I retire, everyone should be in a great economic position. I don't consider anyone on my team as parasites, people who just take stuff from you. "There was an article in Sports Illustrated once that mocked them, calling them ""Men of Unclear Purpose"" made it seem like these guys were hanging around with me, doing nothing with their lives."
“You can’t allow people to jeopardize your empire. My crew would never do that Most of them have tattoos with the initials "T.W.I.S.M." It's almost like a brother thing. It means "The World Is Mine". This is gonna sound a little silly, but I got the idea after seeing Scarface in college. Tony Montana, the character played by Al Pacino, had that big balloon in the world. In him was the message, “The world is ours.” "
Now, several years after his NBA career ended, Shaq is making more money from his commercial businesses than from his league salary. Shaq put his friends in charge of some of the businesses he helped fund, and it's bearing big fruit for him and them as well. He learned about business best practices while still in the league and was able to implement them in real life by investing in several industries.