Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is looking to collect his third NBA Championship this year. But the basketball star also has big goals beyond the court, and he’s not afraid to lay them on the table.
“I want to be a billionaire. I want to be a multi-billionaire,” he tells Maverick Carter in the video series “Kneading Dough.” And he wants to notch his first billion by age 40.
Green, who will play in Game 2 of the NBA Finals this weekend, earns an average annual salary of $17.5 million, plus an estimated $4 million in endorsements. While joining the three-comma club will be a “tough task for sure,” he says, “I think I can reach it.”
His mentality puts him on the right track: Research shows that the wealthiest people aren’t afraid to think big and tend to set unreasonably high expectations.
Here’s exactly how Green plans on turning his millions into billions.
The most important decision Green says he has made to date, and one that will continue to determine his financial success, “is surrounding myself with the team that I have,” he tells Carter.
The one piece of advice he would give to professional athletes, he says in an interview with CNBC, “is to always be curious and always continue learning. All young athletes should take the time to educate themselves and find the right mentors.”
After all, who you hang out with matters. As author and self-made millionaire Steve Siebold writes in his book “How Rich People Think“: “Successful people generally agree that consciousness is contagious, and that exposure to people who are more successful has the potential to expand your thinking and catapult your income. We become like the people we associate with, and that’s why winners are attracted to winners.”
Ultimately, “investing money is how you will get super rich,” says self-made millionaire Grant Cardone.
That’s what Green is doing with a portion of his income. In fact, since the Warriors are in the heart of Silicon Valley in Oakland, locker room talk is often about investing. And it can get competitive, too — in a friendly way.
“We all talk about the investments that we have and how they’re doing and some of the start-ups we’re trying to get into,” he tells Carter. “It’s known that KD [Kevin Durant] is in Postmates, so he kind of flexes his muscles on Postmates right now. It’s some good, fun competition, and I think it’s great to keep pushing guys in the right direction.”
As for Green’s own investments, he and his business partner announced a partnership with Blink Fitness in 2018 to open 20 fitness centers across the U.S. His other investments include workout supplement Performance Inspired and boxing-inspired gym Rumble. Plus, he’s a partner in LeBron James’ media platform Uninterrupted.
Green’s the first to admit that he has made stupid purchases in the past. The most regrettable one? “A $21,000 night in the club,” he tells Carter. “That’s $21,000 that I can never get back. People say: ‘That isn’t nothing to you.’ $20,000 is still $20,000. I don’t care how much money you have, it’s still $20,000.”
Now, Green says, when it comes to spending money, he always considers his long-term goal: “Every day, every decision I make is, ‘How is this helping me become a billionaire?'”
This is an update of a previously published story.
Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook!
Don’t miss: The best cash back credit cards
