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Making Magic: Johnson Heats Things Up Off the Court

Article Overview: Leaving the game that he loved for so many years was a hard move for Johnson. He tried his hand at coaching, but found it was just not the same. With that, he decided once and for all to turn his attention to other things, namely the world of business.

Making Magic: Johnson Heats Things Up Off the Court

Leaving the game that he loved for so many years was a hard move for Johnson. He tried his hand at coaching, but found it was just not the same. With that, he decided once and for all to turn his attention to other things, namely the world of business.

During his basketball career, Johnson had followed the same route as other star athletes in endorsing products and licensing use of his name. But now he was ready to take on a more prominent role.

Johnson began his move into the business world initially through large-scale property development. Locating inner-city areas that were underdeveloped and neglected by the rest of the business community, Johnson decided it was there that he was going to start building movie complexes. In 1995, against the advice of his peers, the newly formed Johnson Development Corporation partnered with Sony to open the 12-screen Magic Theatres multiplex in urban Los Angeles. It quickly became one of the top grossing movie outlets in the entire United States. Johnson followed up this success with further movie complexes in Atlanta, Houston, Harlem, Cleveland, and Las Vegas. By 1998, revenue from just three of his theatres had reached almost $20 million.

As Johnson’s HIV began to be reduced to undetectable levels, his business career continued to soar. He created five separate companies under JDC, which focused on expanding into retail shopping malls. In 1998, Johnson met with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to propose a coffee partnership in inner city locations. Soon, Johnson would become the only Starbucks franchisee in the entire country. He quickly brokered similar deals with T.G.I Friday’s and Burger King.

Things only got bigger from there. Johnson opened up a line of 24-hour sports clubs, and even ventured into the world of Hollywood, becoming executive producer of the film “Brown Sugar.” A talk-show hosted by Johnson never managed to take off, but he continued to delve into the entertainment industry, working with MTV to produce a reality basketball show.

Today, Johnson’s business presence can be felt in all of New York, Chicago, Miami, San Diego, Milwaukee, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Cleveland, Los Angeles and suburban Washington. His empire has created more than 10,000 jobs, mostly for minorities, since he first started. Now, his work extends from movie theatres, to talent management, to television shows, to a record label, to even the Los Angeles-based Founders National Bank.

Johnson has solidified his career both on the court and off, becoming one of the most successful star athletes cum entrepreneurs in history. His reputation for always passing the ball to others has carried over into the business world, where he has focused his business ventures on rebuilding underserved inner-city minority communities. With a multi-million dollar empire behind him, Johnson has become a prominent voice for African-American economic empowerment, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Rumours continue to swirl about his possible entry into mayoral politics in Los Angeles. And, when doubts were raised about his HIV-positive status and his ability to run for office, Johnson had only this to say: “One thing about me is I have unbelievable stamina.”

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Article Tags: basketball career, burger king, business career, film brown sugar, franchisee, hard move, hour sports, howard schultz, inner city areas, inner city locations, jdc, johnsons, magic johnson, screen magic, shopping malls, sports clubs, star athletes, starbucks, t g i fridays, undetectable levels



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