Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.; later became Islam in 1974 and changed named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He is a retired professional basketball player who played twenty seasons in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In this article, we will cover the net worth of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, early life, NBA career, and others.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Net Worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the estimated net worth of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is approximately $20 million. He has been the winner of the NBA Championship six times and also has many awards for his name. Apart from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career as a basketball player, he also had success in his career as an actor and as an author as well.
After taking a dig into his net worth, let’s have a look at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s early life.
Early Life
Kareem was born in New York City on April 16, 1947. He was an exceptional child as he was large as an infant and already stood 6 feet 8 inches tall by the eighth grade. He used to play basketball throughout his youth and triumphed because of his height.
While starting to attend high school, his skills in basketball became obvious and his high school team became victorious in the New York City Championships several times. During his high school basketball career, Kareem went on to break several records.
NBA Career
In 1969, the Milwaukee Bucks drafted Kareem for $1.4 million. The team managed to achieve the second position in the Eastern division during his first year in the NBA. He was the second-highest scorer in the league. In 1970, the Bucks ended up winning the championship with Kareem becoming the highest scorer. In 1974, he asked for a transfer.
The next year, he started playing for the Lakers and had a strong start as he scored a high points-per-game average. Though the Lakers were performing well, they weren’t able to triumph during the playoffs with each passing season.
In 1979, the team drafted Magic Johnson and then they started dominating throughout the 1980s. The team made 5 championship titles to its name and the contribution of Magic Johnson and Kareem was major in achieving this success. This has contributed a lot to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s net worth.
Kareem’s performance started declining during the early to mid-80s, because of his age. He began doing yoga so that he can maintain his stamina and also used to wear protective goggles as his corneas were likely to get scratches and impacts easily. During this period, Kareen developed an eye condition also.
With all these issues, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar confirmed his retirement at the end of the season in 1989. His contribution to basketball made his retirement actually an event and he got a lot of gifts from fans and got standing ovations at games. Kareem’s career of 20 years made him capable of holding the record for most games ever played by a single player at the time of his retirement.
Personal Life
Kareem tied the knot with Janice Brown (later changed to Habiba Abdul-Jabbar) whom he met at a Lakers game. The couple had two girls and a son together named Habiba and Sultana and Kareem Jr. In 1978, they divorced 1978. Kareem also has two other kids, sons named Amir and Adam.
Endorsement Deals
Over the years, Kareem landed many collaboration deals. The most impressive deal that he signed was with Adidas. He became the first NBA athlete to be signed by Adidas. The deal was worth more than $30,000 which was a huge amount at the time. He also launched his signature shoes with the brand.
His other collaboration deals are Nestle, AT&T, and NBA2k, among others. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has reportedly earned more than $2 million from these endorsements, contributing majorly to his net worth.
Earnings from Media Ventures
Apart from a career in basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s media ventures also helped him in building his net worth. He appeared in a number of movies, ads, as well as television reality shows. In 1972, he made his big screen debut with Bruce Lee’s “Game of Death.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s other notable films include Troop Beverly Hills, Airplane, and Fletch, all of which played an important role in his net worth.
He also made appearances in a number of television shows like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, 21 jump Street, and Amen amongst others. In addition, he made appearances in HBO’s “Kareem: Minority of One,” which was based on his life.
In 2018, he also participated in an all-athlete season of a television reality series titled “Dancing with the Stars.”
Apart from that, Kareem also released his 2011 film titled “On the Shoulders of Giants.” He then executively produced and narrated the History Channel’s “Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution,” which event brought him a nomination for his performance. He also co-wrote the 2019 TV show Veronica Mars.
Books
In addition to working in media ventures, Kareem also published several books which actually became best-selling. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s writing career also contributed to his net worth. His books were majorly focused on African-American history. In 1983, he co-wrote his first book titled “Giant Steps,” with Peter Knobler.
Some of his other books include “Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion,” “And on the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance,” which he co-wrote with Raymond Obstfeld, “World War II’s Forgotten Heroes,” among others.
Houses and Cars
Currently, Kareem lives in his Los Angeles abode which he acquired in 2011 for $1.5 million. The estate has a mesmerizing sight of the harbor and the ocean. It has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, a kitchen, and a library,
He also owned a huge 6000-square feet abode in Hawaii which he later sold.
Coming to his car collections, though the precise number of cars owned by Kareem isn’t known, he does own a number of attractive vehicles. He owns a 1948 Packard Super 8 convertible which today costs nearly $55,000. His other cars include an unknown Mercedes Benz sedan and a Volkswagen Atlas SUV worth nearly $40,000.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has no doubt achieved some remarkable success throughout his career, making him able to build his net worth. Keep a watch on our website for more such information.
