Nov 04, 2014

A Study in Contrasts: How Can One NBA Star Lose $110 Million While Another Earns Hundreds of Millions Post-NBA?

Your sports loving students might like this but there are larger lessons here for all students too.

Instructive Bloomberg video (6 minutes) about a Celtics star, Antoine Walker who lost $110 million and then filed for bankruptcy.  Interesting to hear Antoine say that his hero was Magic Johnson.  Have students contrast Antoine’s predicament with Magic Johnson’s post-NBA success as a businessperson (start video at 2:00 and watch for about a minute unless you want to hear about his friendship with Larry Bird).

Key question:  Why do you think Magic succeeded while Antoine struggled financially?  What lessons can you apply to your life?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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