Antoine Walker – former main midfielder of the Boston Celtics basketball team, after 12 years of his career, had the most glorious years with a huge fortune. However, his spending habits of “throwing money out the window” and mistakes in business left him bankrupt within 2 years of retiring.
Antoine Walker in the Boston Celtics team shirt
Antoine Devon Walker was born on August 12, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois (USA). After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1996, Walker decided to pursue his dream of becoming a basketball player.
It seemed to be a wise decision by the American black boy, Antoine Walker is one of the most successful basketball players in the history of the NBA.
During his professional career (1996-2008), the American star played for many famous clubs such as Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat or Minnesota Timberwolves and earned huge amounts of money. to more than 108 million USD (more than 2,500 billion VND). That fortune is many times larger than the average income of a retired NBA player.
Burning 2500 billion and becoming empty-handed, the NBA basketball superstar wants to send young people 3 bloody lessons about money – Photo 2.Antoine Walker was selected three times for the NBA’s most outstanding team in 1998, 2002 and 2003.
However, success came so quickly that Walker lost his way. “Just because of the arrogance and impetuosity of youth, I turned myself into a selfish, stubborn person and wasted a lot of my money,” he shared.
At that time, the former Boston Celtic star truly lived lavishly like a king. Antoine Walker’s house is valued at tens of millions of dollars and always has 4-5 luxury supercars from Bentley and BMW brands parked in the garage.
The American star is also famous for never wearing the same designed outfit twice when appearing in public.
Although he is a talented player, Walker is a “fool” in the real estate business.
Combined with his love of gambling and lack of calculation in business, Antoine Walker was harmed. The former Boston Celtic player was arrested three times for problems related to debts at casinos in Miami and Las Vegas in 2009 and 2010.
Burning 2500 billion and becoming empty-handed, the NBA basketball superstar wants to send young people 3 bloody lessons about money – Photo 3.An unending thirst for money combined with a lack of business intelligence, Antoine Walker lost everything
He made a wrong decision when he spent money to buy up to 140 plots of land along the south side of Chicago with the intention of building commercial centers and a place to retire for old age. However, consecutive housing bubbles caused Walker to go from being a millionaire to being insolvent.
As a result, all valuable assets in his enormous fortune were “gone away” one by one and worse, Walker had to file for bankruptcy protection on May 18, 2010 with debts of up to 12,740 VND. 000 USD.
But instead of burying the past, Walker decided to use his life story to help others better understand money – a poisonous snake that can kill you at any time.
He is currently a consultant working for Morgan Staney Bank’s money management curriculum called Global Sports & Entertainment. This is a program for college and professional athletes.
Below are 3 extremely valuable lessons about money that Walker has learned:
1. Live frugally, no matter how rich you are
According to Walker, if you have reached a major financial milestone for yourself or have accumulated a sizable amount of wealth in a short period of time, then try to protect that wealth.
“You have worked very hard to reach this point. Don’t ruin it. Don’t destroy the assets you have gained through that labor process,” Walker shared.
“Remember how hard you had to work to reach that milestone, cherish and protect the results you sweated and blooded to achieve.”
2. Learn to say “no”
Burning 2500 billion and becoming empty-handed, the NBA basketball superstar wants to send young people 3 bloody lessons about money – Photo 4.Currently, Antoine Walker is a consultant working for a money management curriculum called Global Sports Entertainment of Morgan Staney bank.
After a bitter defeat, Walker understood the importance of setting boundaries.
“It was a difficult lesson,” he said. “I want to take care of my family, I want the best for them. I really don’t want the word “no” in my vocabulary. It’s a word I’m not used to saying.”
However, “when you have money and people want your help, you have to know how to say ‘no,'” he shared.
Similar to the story of the fishing rod and the fish, you cannot always help others. If possible, teach the person how to use a fishing rod, don’t give them a fish a day.
3. The “equal to friends, equal to friends” mentality l