Jordan airs to the US top 400 richest

National Basketball Association legend Michael Jordan is the first professional sports player to rank among the 400 wealthiest individuals in the United States, according to Forbes.

The 60-year-old sold his majority stake in Charlotte Hornets earlier this year, a deal that boosted hia net worth to US$3 billion (HK$23.4 billion), the 2023 Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans showed. He is America's 379th richest person.

The hall-of-fame player, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles and won five MVP awards, bought the stake in Hornets, then called the Bobcats, in 2010. But it was a licensing agreement with Nike in the 1980s that formed the foundation of his trailblazing fortune.

Last year, the Jordan brand recorded US$5.1 billion in revenue, representing almost 11 percent of Nike's total sales, and he is estimated to have earned a 5 percent royalty on Air Jordan's sales.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump saw his fortune fall 19 percent to US$2.6 billion, meaning the former US president dropped out of the list.