After 10 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Junior Bridgeman finally started to make the big bucks—really big—with fast-food franchises and a Coca-Cola bottling company. He’s now in rare air alongside Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James as the only NBA players with 10-figure fortunes. Oh, and he also owns a piece of his old team.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Today on Forbes, how this legendary NBA sixth man became a billionaire.
00:07On a Friday afternoon in November, Junior Bridgman is reminiscing about his time in
00:12the NBA.
00:13Once traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bridgman, now 71
00:19years old, scans his Louisville, Kentucky office filled with photographs, art, and memorabilia
00:25from his playing days as one of the most dominant NBA sixth men of his era.
00:30He leans back in his chair, allowing the emotions to set in.
00:34He knows the moment to retire is once again approaching.
00:38Bridgman tells Forbes, quote, it's probably time.
00:42Glancing at the replica Super Bowl ring he was given by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020,
00:47he adds, quote, time catches up.
00:50You look around and realize that your time, and the time when you have influence and when
00:54you're really involved and have the energy, is gone.
00:58But Bridgman remains thoroughly engaged in his business ventures and remains a gracious
01:02host as he gives Forbes' Jabari Young a brief tour of his headquarters.
01:07Walking past the Coca-Cola and Wendy's award plaques, Bridgman points out a unique portrait
01:12of Dr. Martin Luther King that's made of old keyboard buttons.
01:16A small mirror is nearby, urging passersby to pick it up, then stand in front of the
01:20portrait to see a reflection of the words from King's famous I Have a Dream speech.
01:26Down the hall is a section dedicated to Nelson Mandela, including paintings the South African
01:30leader made while in prison.
01:32And a photo of the Little Rock Nine, signed by the nine black students who became the
01:37first to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957 after being escorted in by
01:42the National Guard.
01:44But nothing means more to Bridgman than his bookshelf, packed with books that have inspired
01:48him over the years, including Jim Collins' Good to Great, Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers,
01:55The One-Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, and Porter Bibb's Chronicle
01:59of Ted Turner's Career.
02:01It ain't as easy as it looks.
02:04If Bridgman's name sounds familiar, it should.
02:07The eighth overall pick in the 1975 NBA draft, in which Hall of Famer David Thompson was
02:12selected first, the Milwaukee Bucks traded for Bridgman in the deal that sent Abdul-Jabbar
02:17to the Lakers.
02:19Bridgman went on to have a formidable career as a sixth man, long before the league handed
02:23out an award for the role.
02:26Following his retirement after 12 seasons, including 10 in Milwaukee, in which he never
02:30earned more than $350,000 as a player, Bridgman built a fast food empire that included more
02:35than 500 Wendy's, Chili's and Pizza Hut franchises at its peak in 2015.
02:42Then in 2016, Bridgman sold most of his restaurants for an estimated $250 million and used the
02:48proceeds to become a Coca-Cola distributor with a territory spanning three states.
02:53Over the last eight years, Bridgman has grown his bottling business's revenue almost threefold
02:59to nearly $1 billion in 2023.
03:02Today, Forbes estimates that Bridgman has a net worth of $1.4 billion.
03:09That kind of personal wealth puts Bridgman in elite NBA company.
03:13Only three other players have become billionaires, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James.
03:19Tiger Woods is the fourth professional athlete to have achieved billionaire status.
03:24But unlike those four superstars, Bridgman did it the harder way, without much fanfare
03:28or international celebrity.
03:31LeBron James tells Forbes, quote, he didn't waste his time just thinking about the game
03:35of basketball.
03:36He's always had a business mindset.
03:38Obviously, he loved the game because he got to the NBA.
03:42But then he used all the resources, outlets, the connections to his advantage, and he's
03:46built an unbelievable portfolio.
03:50Basketball Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas needs just one word to describe Bridgman, who played
03:54in the same era.
03:56The two-time NBA champion tells Forbes that word is, quote, legendary.
04:01He adds, quote, he's the real success story, a pioneer and a great businessman.
04:08Bridgman never won an NBA title, but he used his time in the league to develop a game plan
04:12for a post-basketball career.
04:15He received invaluable business advice from then-Bucks owner Jim Fitzgerald, who convinced
04:19Bridgman to invest $150,000 in a startup cable company.
04:24When Fitzgerald eventually sold the company, Bridgman received around $700,000, more than
04:29double what he earned during most NBA seasons in the 1980s.
04:34For full coverage, and to learn all about Junior Bridgman, check out Jabari Young's
04:38piece on Forbes.com.
04:42This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:44Thanks for tuning in.