Shaq’s early investment in the home security company Ring stands as one of his most successful ventures, with Amazon acquiring the company just two years after Shaq became an investor for $1 billion in 2018.
No word on how much he invested, how much he might have possibly made, or even if he is still an investor.
According to Andrew Petcash, founder of Profluence, which describes itself as a “media company and investment fund at the intersection of sports, technology, and media, Shaq’s investments throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s began to flourish, with his investment in Ring being a standout, according to a blog post on LinkedIn from Petcash.
Shaq Rings The Alarm
The story began when Shaq while setting up security for one of his Atlanta homes, found an $80,000 quote for a security system to be excessively high.
Seeking a more affordable solution, he purchased a Ring camera from Best Buy. Impressed by its capabilities and cost-effectiveness, Shaq decided to take a deeper interest in the company, according to Digital Trends.
In 2016, he arranged a meeting with Ring’s CEO and founder, Jamie Siminoff, at a tech conference, where he expressed his desire to invest.
At that time, Ring was valued at approximately $200 million. Just two years later, Jeff Bezo‘s Amazon bought the company for a billion dollars.
Shaq even starred in Ring ads where his larger-than-life sense of humor made him a highly effective salesman.
Shaq has also offered input on how to make Ring cameras more appealing to car owners to Siminoff, according to Digital Trends, saying, “I have it. It’s a prototype. A person comes up my car and they touch my car and my (recorded) voice yells, ‘Get ‘yo ass out of my car! Get ‘yo ass out of my car! Get ‘yo ass out of my car!”
As mentioned, Ring is not the only smart investment, as companies like Google, Vitamin Water, acquired by Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion in 2007, Muscle Milk, acquired by Hormel for $450 million in 2014, and Lyft owe their gratitude to the former NBA star, according to Vanity Fair.
Shaq invested in Google during its Series A funding round, which occurred in 1999. At that time, Google’s valuation was around $100 million. Shaq’s investment opportunity came through a chance encounter with a high-profile investor while dining at a restaurant. Recognizing the potential of Google, Shaq decided to invest. Although he has not disclosed the exact amount of his investment, he bought in well before Google’s public offering in 2004. His investment has appreciated, given that Google has since become a trillion-dollar company.
Shaq, with a net worth of $400 million, has said that his business endeavors are motivated by the shared beliefs he learned from Amazon’s founder Bezos, saying, “I heard Jeff Bezos say one time [that] he makes his investments based on if it’s going to change people’s lives.”
“Once I started following that strategy, I believe I probably quadrupled my net worth,” Shaq said.
