If LeBron James’ Wealth Were Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Get?
Written by
Vance Cariaga
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Zuri Anderson
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LeBron James has set a lot of records during his 23 years in the NBA. He’s the career NBA leader in points scored, playoff points scored, all-league selections and most years playing.
The L.A. Lakers superstar is also the first player in NBA history to reach 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists — and the first to become a billionaire while still an active player.
James has a net worth of about $1.3 billion, according to the latest Forbes estimates. He’s the second-highest paid player in the NBA and ranks No. 6 among all professional athletes globally.
How much would every American get if you were to distribute James’ wealthy evenly across the U.S. population? Keep reading to find out.
LeBron by the Numbers
Even at the age of 40 (ancient in NBA terms), James remains one of the best basketball players in the world. That’s reflected in his NBA contract, which is currently worth $52.6 million, according to Forbes.
But most of James’ earnings come from what he does off the court through endorsements, business ventures, investments and other sources. Forbes estimates his off-court earnings at $85 million, for a total of $137.6 million.
Among NBA players, only Golden State’s Stephen Curry ranks higher, with earnings of $159.6 million.
James has commanded top dollar ever since he was a high school sensation in Akron, Ohio, more than two decades ago. He went straight to the NBA out of high school when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him as the league’s No. 1 draft pick in 2003.
His first NBA contract paid him $18,788,540 over four years, according to Sportrac. That made James one of the league’s highest-paid players even as a teenager. It was quite a journey for someone born to a 16-year-old single mother, and who spent much of his youth living with assorted family members, friends and neighbors.
Here’s What You’d Get If LeBron Split His Wealth Evenly
To figure out how much every American would get if James’ net worth were distributed evenly, you first need to determine the U.S. population. That figure is constantly changing, minute by minute. According to a running tally kept by the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation’s population was 342,954,297 as of Dec. 10, 2025.
Here’s the math on how much money you’d get by dividing James’ wealth evenly:
- LeBron James net worth ($1,300,000,000) divided by U.S. population (342,954,297) = $3.79.
So, if James were generous enough distribute his wealth evenly to every American, they would each get $3.79 — which is almost enough to buy a standard gallon of milk.
Okay, so you’re not going to get a big infusion of cash by splitting up LeBron James’ wealth. But the NBA star does give back in plenty of other ways.
As Forbes noted, the LeBron James Family Foundation opened its first elementary school in 2018 and has pledged to spend more than $40 million to send kids to college.
If you really want to make a decent haul by splitting up someone’s wealth, then Elon Musk is the best candidate.
The Tesla CEO and world’s richest person was worth about $491 billion as of Dec. 10, according to Forbes. If you split that up evenly, then every American would get about $1,432.
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