Shaquille O’Neal, motivated by a salesman’s doubt about his purchasing power, spent $1.3 million on three Rolls Royce that he never drives.
It was Shaq’s way of showing he wasn’t to be underestimated, even if it meant making a huge, spontaneous purchase to prove a point. Shaq ended up not even driving the cars, making the whole thing more about pride than practicality.
Telling the story on Drink Champs, he said: “I didn’t want to spend $400,000 on a car so I’m like, ‘Hey man, how much is this?’
“Finally, the old guy says, ‘Yo man, you’re asking about all these cars, can you afford them?’.
“Now I’m p*****d. I said, ‘What the f*** did you say to me?’. So I buy three, that one, that one and that one and I want them dropped off. Move the seat back.
“I got three Rolls Royces that I never drive. So there goes another million.”
O’Neal once bought LeBron James a Rolls Royce, while only recently he enlisted the helm of West Coast Customs to give his vehicle a new feel.
Speaking on the Earn Your Leisure podcast, he said: “My kids are older now. They kinda upset with me – not really upset – but they don’t understand.
“Because I tell them all the time. We ain’t rich. I’m rich.
“You’ve got to have Bachelor’s or Master’s [degrees] and then if you want me to invest in one of your companies, you’re going to have to present it… bring it to me, I’ll let you know. I’m not giving you nothing.”
He continued: There’s one rule: education. I don’t care if you play basketball. I don’t care about none of that.
“Listen, I got six kids. I would like a doctor, somebody to own a hedge fund, a pharmacist, a lawyer, someone that owns multiple businesses, someone to take over my business. But I tell them I’m not going to hand it to you. You gotta earn it.“
