Music is a domain that NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has always shown a significant amount of passion for. As all fans know, Shaq was considered an unstoppable and dominant force on the court. However, he also made impressive and underrated moves in the world of business.
In fact, one could argue that O’Neal’s investment decisions are quite unique and hard for the average person to comprehend. After all, why would anyone want to spend a large amount of money in order to purchase the music rights and royalties of deceased celebrities such as Elvis Presley? This undoubtedly possesses the capability to confuse fans and should be understood better.
Shaquille O’Neal purchased the licensing rights for Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and others.
When people initially found out that Shaq was interested in “buying dead people” this turned a lot of heads. O’Neal explained that he felt it was a smart move to spend around $135 million in order to purchase the licensing rights and royalties to prominent posthumous singers like Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.
Shaq is a stakeholder in $10B company Authentic Brands Group (ABG).
ABG own 30+ brands incl. licensing rights to Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and more.
ABG generate $400M a year in licensing revenue. As a stakeholder, Shaq also part-owns the licensing rights to these brands. pic.twitter.com/IdByqoj4uk
— The Numbers Game (@Tngtweets1) July 11, 2021
Shaq reasoned that this was a good move since these personalities are immortalized by society. Therefore, O’Neal would get a cut anytime a movie or any production made references to Elvis or Monroe. It would also ensure that their families received fair compensation, in the form of $135 million.
Shaq owning the rights to Marilyn Monroe & Elvis is so wild to me but beautiful business moves
— HER (@NattQueenCole) June 7, 2023
The Lakers legend was able to purchase royalties through his association with Authentic Brands Group. This was the same organization that initially acquired Elvis’ royalties and wanted to keep his legacy alive. They sent out a public statement after the purchase had been completed.
“We are honored to welcome Elvis into the ABG brand portfolio and look forward to working alongside the Presley family and the team at Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) to increase Elvis’ popularity and fan base worldwide Since Shaq eventually bought shares from ABG, he was able to purchase royalties from popular singers.”
Although the royalties from Presley and Monroe would be more than enough to make him an incredible fortune, O’Neal didn’t stop there. There have been reports that he has also bought royalties from David Beckham and Forever 21. These are some of the reasons that he has been able to amass an impressive net worth of around $450 million so far.