Michael Jordan Biography, History, Asset and Net Worth

Michael Jeffrey Jordan popularly known as Michael Jordan is a famous American basketball player, baseball player, motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, investor, life coach, actor and a philanthropist. He has been proclaimed as the greatest basketball player of all time by several media organizations. He played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards in the United States of America.

He is currently the richest basketball player in the world with an estimated net worth of $1.65 billion according to Forbes Magazine. He was born on 17^th February 1963 in Brooklyn, New York in the United States of America to Deloris Jordan, who worked in the banking industry and James R. Jordan Sr., who worked as an equipment supervisor. He is currently 55 years old. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in the United States of America, when he was just a baby.

Michael Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s respectively. He is currently the principal owner, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.

Michael Jordan is the fourth child in a family of five children. He has two older brothers named Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan. He also has one older sister, named Deloris and one younger sister, named Roslyn. Michael Jordan’s elder brother James Jordan retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35^thSignal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the United States Army.

Michael Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington in the United States of America, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball and football. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5’11” (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend named Harvest Leroy Smith was the only sophomore to join the varsity basketball team.

After that incident, Michael Jordan became motivated to prove his worth. He later became the star of Laney’s Junior varsity squad and won several 40-point games. In the following summer, Michael Jordan grew four inches (10 cm) and was trained rigorously to join the varsity basketball team. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Michael Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play.

As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald’s All-American Team after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists. Due to that achievement, Michael Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia.

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In 1981, Michael Jordan accepted a basketball scholarship to North Carolina University, where he studies Cultural Geography. Michael Jordan played three seasons for Coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina in the United States of America. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels national championship team in 1982.

In 1984, Michael Jordan joined the Bulls as the third overall draft pick. He quickly emerged as a league star and entertained crowds with his prolific scoring ability. His leaping ability demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contest, earned him the nicknames Air Jordan and His Airness. He also gained a huge reputation for becoming one of the best defensive players in basketball history.

In 1991, Michael Jordan won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993 respectively, securing a three-peat. Although Michael Jordan vehemently retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993-1994 NBA season and started a new career playing minor league baseball. In March 1995, he returned to the Bulls and led them to three additional championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 respectively, as well as a then-record 72 regular-season win in the 1995–1996 NBA seasons.

In January 1999, Michael Jordan retired for a second time, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Wizards. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Michael Jordan left North Carolina University one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. The Chicago Bulls later selected him with the third overall pick after Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston Rockets and Sam Bowie of Portland Trail Blazers.

One of the primary reasons why Michael Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center. However, Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center, but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Michael Jordan. In 1986, Michael Jordan returned to North Carolina University to complete his degree course.

Michael Jordan in the cause of his career has won several awards, accomplishments and individual accolades which include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles both all-time records, five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team Honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, three steals titles and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

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Among his numerous accomplishments and achievements, Michael Jordan also holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average 30.12 points per game and highest career playoff scoring average 33.45 points per game. In 1999, Michael Jordan was named as the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press’s list of athletes of the century.

Michael Jordan is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, having been enshrined in 2009 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as part of the group induction of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team “The Dream Team”. In 2015, Michael Jordan became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame. Michael Jordan is also known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular till today. Aside from playing basketball and baseball, Michael Jordan is also an actor. In 1996, he starred as himself in the 1996 film “Space Jam”. He is also a motivational speaker and self help author, with several of his books topping on the New York Times best selling lists.

In 2006, Michael Jordan became part of the owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2010, he bought a controlling interest. In 2015, Michael Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history as a result of the increase in value of NBA franchises. He is the third richest African-American in the United States of America after Robert F. Smith and Oprah Winfrey.

In September 1989, Michael Jordan got married to Juanita Vano, and the marriage was blessed with two lovely sons and a daughter namely Jeffrey Michael, Marcus James and Jasmine Jordan. On 4^th January 2002, Michael Jordan and his wife Juanita Vano filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as the case. Luckily their differences were reconciled shortly thereafter and the divorced annulment was cancelled.

In December 2006, they again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on 29^th December 2006, commenting that the decision was made mutually and amicably. It was reported that Juanita Vano received a $168 million settlement from Michael Jordan, making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.

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Michael Jordan is currently the richest and most influential basketball player in the United States of America with an estimated net worth of $1.65 billion.