In 2010, Chinese rich man Chen Songxiong bought 4.5% of the Lakers shares by 50 million yuan. How much is the appreciation now?

In the wave of sports business, equity transactions of NBA teams have always been the focus of attention. Every year, countless wealthy people try to invest in an NBA team, but few can really get what they want, even the legendary stars who have made great contributions to the team are no exception. For example, Wade, after retiring, he hoped to buy a 3% stake in the Heat, but was rejected by the team's boss. Garnett also suffered a "turned-off" from the Timberwolves boss.

It can be seen that it is not easy to become a small boss of an NBA team. Its scarcity and high barriers to acquisition have discouraged countless rich people. In fact, for those bosses who own team shares, no one will be stupid enough to sell the money tree in their hands, and it is in an era of rapid commercialization of the NBA. But there are exceptions, this person is Magic Johnson.

Time goes back to 1994, in order to commend and thank the Magic for their contributions to the team, Lakers boss Bass reselled 4.5% of the Lakers' shares to the latter at a "friendly price" of $10 million. This move seems full of warmth, but in fact, Old Bass values ​​the influence of the Magicians and can bring more business opportunities and benefits to the team. Time flies, and in 2010, Magic Johnson made an important decision - to sell his Lakers shares. The person who took over was the rich Chinese man Chen Songxiong. At that time, he was the richest Chinese in the United States. He made extraordinary achievements in the field of medicine. He held more than 30 patents and his value was as high as 7.1 billion US dollars. Experts estimate that Chen Songxiong spent at least $50 million to buy the 4.5% of the Lakers shares in the Magician. For Chen Songxiong, this transaction not only fulfilled his NBA dream, but also obtained an investment that could bring long-term returns. So, 15 years have passed, how much is the Lakers shares in Chen Songxiong’s hands now worth?

According to data released by Forbes, the Lakers' market value in the 2024-25 season was US$7.1 billion, ranking third in the league, second only to the Warriors and the Knicks. Chen Songxiong's 4.5% stake is now worth approximately US$320 million based on this market value. In fact, since NBA team shares often have a premium effect in market transactions, if Chen Songxiong chooses to sell his shares at this time, the transaction price will be far beyond this number. Compared with the 50 million US dollars at the time of buying, this investment has increased by more than 6 times in 15 years, and it is important to know that this number will continue to rise, which is admirable for Chen Songxiong's investment vision.

Of course, opportunities are also a very important part of it. You should know that before he became the Lakers' boss, he was a loyal Lakers fan and bought the Lakers' season ticket for the entire 25 years. In addition to Chen Songxiong's social status and wealth, he has a good relationship with stars such as Kobe and Magic, so it is not difficult to understand why Magicians resold this 4.5% of the shares to him.