There is no doubt that Shaquille O’Neal is an NBA legend, but little do people know that apart from his excellent balling abilities, he also has a great business mindset. Big Shaq is a successful entrepreneur who started thinking about business right from the very start of his career.
Shaq is now among the most popular and richest NBA stars on the planet, having a net worth of around $500 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. However, even though he has built up vast wealth that requires him to be very calculative, he has made mistakes with a good sum of money as well, as he recently shared how he miscalculated $250k from his car wash business.
Shaquille O’Neal revealed the fate of his missing $250K from car wash business
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most fascinating businessmen in the world. His decisions would make many people question his abilities as a successful entrepreneur but he does not let those opinions bother him. Shaq owns many car washes as a part of his huge business empire, and he has a trustworthy accountant, Lester Knispel, who has been with him for a long time.
One time, an incident occurred in one of Shaq’s car washes where the numbers did not match up when Knispel did the calculations. Around $250,000 was missing from the projected earnings from the respected car wash.
Knispel was distressed by this and flew to Orlando to discuss the matter with Shaq. Shaq was amazed by Knispel’s trustworthiness and knew exactly where the missing money was. He talked about this incident in his book, “Shaq: Uncut.” He said, “We were doing well and were making a lot of money, but one day my accountant Lester called me up and told me the numbers were not matching up. The profits we should have had were not aligning with the numbers that were being deposited in the bank.”
He further said, “I told Lester ‘Do not worry, Lester,’ but he was freaking out. He even flew to Orlando just to discuss it with me. He calculated we were missing about a quarter million dollars.”
Shaq later came clean with Knispel and said, “It took me some time, but I came clean with him. I showed Lester to my bedroom, where there were a whole lot of wooden rain barrels which were full of quarters. Lester said, ‘Shaq, what the hell is this? Is this the missing money?’ ‘Yes,’ I admitted. ‘Lester, I can not help it. I like seeing my money.”
Shaq promotes potential rival in Charles Oakley
Shaquille O’Neal recently set a great example of friendship and camaraderie as he promoted a potential rival car wash. The car wash in question is the “Oakley Car Wash,” opened by none other than NBA legend Charles Oakley.
Shaq is one of those celebrities who openly speaks his mind through his social media accounts or on the show he hosts alongside NBA icon Charles Barkley. He also uses them to promote artists or people close to him. he recently promoted Charles Oakley’s car wash on his Instagram story.
This goes to show the great spirit of Shaq as a friend who does not care to promote his friend’s business despite having multiple businesses in the same line. Oakley and Shaq have been great friends since their time together at the New York Knicks. Both formed a formidable duo that was a menace in the NBA. Shaq’s dominant scoring abilities allowed the Knicks to have an explosive offense, while Oakley’s gritty defense provided them with a reliable defense. Combined, they brought the Knicks championship glory in 1994.
What do you think of Shaquille O’Neal’s story of the missing $250,000? What do you think about Shaq promoting Oakley Car Wash? We are eager to know your thoughts, so drop down in the comments box and let us know.
