Shaquille O'Neal's Estimated $500M Portfolio Includes A Big Bet On Google, But Big Shamrock Made A Critical Error That Makes Him Facepalm Each Time He Steps Into A Starbucks — 'Worst Investment Ever'

Shaquille O'Neal is widely recognized as one of the greatest basketball players, but since retiring from the NBA, he’s gained significant respect for his business expertise and chance encounters.

What Happened: During a 2018 appearance on "The Ellen Show," Shaq shared two pivotal investment stories.

First, he recounted his “worst investment ever” — turning down Starbucks. 

When Starbucks’ then-CEO Howard Schultz proposed opening locations in African-American communities, Shaq’s response was skeptical. 

“Black people don’t drink coffee,” he said referring to his earlier thought. This misconception led him to pass on what could have been a lucrative opportunity.

"So now, every time I go to Starbucks, I see black people drinking coffee, I’m like… [he does a facepalm]."

See Also: Shaq Once Said The ‘Earth Was Flat’ And Then It Cost Him $20M: ‘It Was Like 500K Hate Mail’

In contrast, Shaq then shared his successful Google investment story.

He recalled a chance encounter at the Four Seasons Hotel in LA around ’93 or ’94, where he was essentially babysitting someone’s kids during a meeting.

After the meeting, the impressed parent offered him an investment opportunity, saying, “In the future, you’re going to be able to type on your phone, search engine, this, do this, boom, boom, boom. You should invest.”

This turned out to be Google, and Shaq's decision to invest paid off handsomely. Google, now rebranded as Alphabet Inc. has a current market cap of $1.973 trillion, making it the fourth most valuable company in the world.

Why It’s Important: This anecdote highlights how unconventional networking can lead to significant investment opportunities in the tech world.

Shaq's Google investment marked the beginning of his successful post-NBA business career, setting him apart from the 65% of NBA players who reportedly go broke within five years of leaving the game.

Earlier this month, the website CelebrityNetWorth estimated Shaq’s net wealth to be around $500 million. His investment portfolio includes stakes in various franchises such as Five Guys, Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme, and his own fast-food chain, Big Chicken.

Apart from Google, other notable company investments include Ring video doorbell, which was later acquired by Amazon, and Apple.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.