Brooklyn Nets: Kevin Durant Making a Ton of Money off Uber’s Acquisition of Postmates
By Jerry Trotta
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant’s investment in Postmates back in 2016 is literally paying huge dividends.
The Brooklyn Nets are currently preparing to travel to Orlando, where they will compete in the NBA restart amid the coronavirus pandemic later this month.
Unfortunately for them, the lengthy postponement wasn’t enough time for Kevin Durant to fully recover from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in the 2019 Finals against the Toronto Raptors, as he recently announced that he wouldn’t be participating.
For most superstars, that would be a pressing mental obstacle to overcome. That isn’t necessarily the case with Durant, who has other means of business on his mind.
Back in 2016, Durant invested approximately $1 million in then-startup food delivery business Postmates. Flash forward to last week, and it was reported that Uber Technologies was in talks to purchase the company for roughly $2.6 billion. Well, the deal was finalized on Monday and, as a result, the 10-time All-Star will pocket an estimated $15 million.
Cashing a $15 million paycheck isn’t too shabby for a player that hasn’t appeared in a single game this season. Durant can obviously afford to miss a year with injury considering how much money he’s made across his career, but that’s still a pretty sizable payout for an investment made less than four years ago.
According to Forbes, Durant’s business empire, Thirty Five Ventures, which was co-founded with his agent/manager Rich Kleiman, has 15 employees working full time to analyze his investments and endorsements, as well as brainstorm ways to expand his brand. It’s pretty apparent that they’re the best at what they do. After all, not many entrepreneurs can say they turned a $1 million investment into a $15 million profit within a four-year timeframe.
What’s even more bizarre? The four-time scoring champ has invested more than $15 million into over 40 startup companies and organizations. It’s no wonder Durant, per Forbes, is ranked No. 7 on the world’s highest-paid athletes list of the last 12 months, with an income of $64 million.
As far as life outside of basketball is concerned, Durant is playing chess while most of his colleagues are playing checkers.