Where Does LeBron James Rank in Fame and Wealth in 2016?

LeBron James is one of today’s most influential people. He’s ranked the second most famous athlete, the 11th richest celebrity and the third highest paid athlete in the world.

This past year was a good one for LeBron James. He signed a lifetime deal with Nike – the first ever of its kind – at the end of 2015. He partnered with the University of Akron to give scholarships to more than 2,000 students starting in 2021.

He successfully broke into Hollywood, with his big-screen debut of “Trainwreck” in the summer of 2015. He was chosen to star in the future “Space Jam” sequel. And his company SpringHill Entertainment signed a deal with Warner Bros.

Oh, and he won his third – and possibly most prized – NBA championship, delivering on his promise to Cleveland and ending the city’s 52 year major sports championship drought. He did it all while making history, breaking records and winning a unanimous Finals MVP, his third such award.

With all of his accomplishments this past year, it’s no surprise to hear that in 2016, LeBron is ranked the second most famous athlete, 11th richest celebrity and third highest paid athlete in the world.

ESPN released it’s World Fame 100 at the end of May, created by ESPN’s director of sports analytics Ben Alamar. To determine the world’s most famous athletes, Alamar created a formula based on salary, endorsements, social media following and Google search popularity. With this year’s earnings of $23 million, endorsements totaling $44 million, 29.6 million Twitter followers and 22.4 million Facebook likes, LeBron ranks second, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo.

Looking beyond his earnings, social media following and everything else that can be calculated, it makes sense that LeBron lands at number two on the list. For instance, he has numerous connections to other influential people, including Warren Buffett, Jay-Z and Beyonce, Drake, Lil Wayne, Kevin Hart, President Obama and his family and the Middletons. He was even ranked the most powerful athlete in 2014 by Forbes, because of his connections, as well as his earnings and influence elsewhere.

All this fame and power has not gone to waste, however, as LeBron embraces his role and uses it for good, through charity and activism. As previously mentioned, LeBron is giving scholarships to more than 2,000 students, on top of giving back to his community in several other ways.

In addition, LeBron has voiced his sentiments on national issues over the years. One such issue that stands out, especially today, is that of violence, which he spoke out about in his recent ESPYs speech with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. He also spoke on the issue in a Finals press conference when he offered his condolences for the Orlando mass shooting in June.

Much of LeBron’s fame and power rankings come from his earnings though. Forbes more recently released the World’s Highest Paid Celebrities and World’s Highest Paid Athletes, both of which featured LeBron quite high on the lists. He was ranked as 2016’s 11th highest paid celebrity, up from 18th in 2015, and the third highest paid athlete.

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According to Forbes, LeBron raked in $77 million in earnings this year from his Cavs salary and outside endorsements. He earned $23.2 million on the court and $54 million off the court, although all of this was still $93 million behind music star Taylor Swift who sits at number one on the list.

However, LeBron’s off-the-court earnings may be low estimates. He has endorsement deals with Kia, Coca-Cola (Sprite), Beats by Dre, Blaze Pizza and Nike. That last one is a lifetime endorsement possibly worth more than $1 billion and more than $60 million a year. But Forbes has estimated the deal as lower than that.

In addition, Forbes only took into account his endorsements and not his Hollywood earnings. For instance, LeBron owns SpringHill Entertainment, which signed an agreement with Warner Bros. in July, 2015 and is producing various TV shows for different networks.

No matter exactly what number you estimate his total earnings to be, it’s undeniable how successful LeBron is as a celebrity and athlete. His success goes beyond his money, from his influence and connections to his activism and charity. Not to mention his otherworldly basketball skills and IQ, which brought an NBA championship to a city that had not seen one in over half a century. All hail King James.