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Although Kobe Bryant was born in Italy, it was in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles that he became an all-time NBA great. In doing so, he mentored a generation of young LA Hoopers on and off the field. One of them was James Harden, who credits Kobe with giving him “life-saving” advice on finances. Harden recently appeared on the Earn Your Leisure podcast and talked about how Kobe got him into investing.
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Kobe Bryant combined a rare combination of natural talent, an iron will to win and otherworldly physical gifts to become one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen. What many people may not realize, however, is that Bryant approached investing with the same tenacity. Bryant began preparing for life after basketball long before his career ended, and challenged Harden to do the same.
“Kobe told me, ‘Let’s put $5 million aside. Every time an opportunity comes along — $200,000 or $500,000 — we’ll tap into this pot and invest,” said Harden, 35. He said this conversation with Bryant in 2014 took place, by At the time, Bryant was a senior statesman in the NBA and an experienced investor. One of those investments was Bryant’s equity stake in the BodyArmour brand of energy drinks,. which he acquired for $6 million.
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Bryant encouraged Harden to invest in the deal and he followed suit, albeit with a smaller investment of $500,000. Over the next seven years, BodyArmour steadily grew in popularity, thanks in no small part to public support from highly visible athletes like Bryant and Harden. Coca-Cola took notice in 2021 and purchased BodyArmour for $5.6 billion.
The deal is rumored to have netted Bryant $400 million, a return of approximately 6,700% on his original investment. That means Harden’s original $500,000 should have been worth between $32 million and $33 million. By then, both men had highly diversified portfolios. According to the Daily Mail, Kobe Bryant’s portfolio included Dell, Alibaba and Epic Games stocks. Harden has also expanded his portfolio to include ownership of an MLS and NWSL franchise.
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Harden’s affection for startups and new companies also carries over from his BodyArmour experience. He owns a stake in Therabody, maker of the portable, rechargeable muscle massager Theragun. He also clarified that he sees investing as a way to continue Kobe’s legacy off the field. This mission added meaning for Harden in light of Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash in 2020.
Harden told his hosts, “It’s very difficult to continue Kobe’s legacy because he was really unique. But I try to contribute in a creative way and move things forward.” You may not have $500,000 worth of capital to start your portfolio like Harden, but you can still learn from his example. The success of companies like BodyArmour and Nvidia shows that the investing world is full of opportunities with unlimited upside.
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This article NBA Great James Harden Spills the Tea on Building a $400 Million Investment Portfolio with Kobe Bryant originally appeared on Benzinga.com
