The richest people in the world land on a list. Do they look at their ranking and figure out ways to move up? Or are they happy where they are and the things they spend on?
If rich guys were athletes, they’d want to get better every day. At least they’d try to throw shade on the accomplishments of other rich guys.
This is where rich and smart intersect.
If they’re not spending a fortune the way LeBron James does, they’ve got a problem.
Have any of the big dogs made the impact of LeBron when he said he’d pay for 1,000 kids to go to college?
$42 million might be pocket change for the top ten billionaires, but have they laid it on the table for college scholarships?
The richest of the rich, Bill Gates, left college to work on what became Microsoft. No one knocks him for being a dropout. He does great things around the world, things no one else does, but does he have a direct effect on young lives like LeBron?
Ask any struggling millennial about college debt. They loaded up to get a degree, chased all the financial aid available, and still came out tens of thousands in the hole.
Now you hear about stagnant wages and rising cost of living, like food and rent. Reports of them renting a long time before saving enough for a down payment on a house splash across the major news platforms.
The more callous among us wave a hand and tell how they struggled with rent, college, three kids and a full time job. That was my dad, except he wasn’t callous.
Others wave their hand and explain their struggle with college, married, two kids, and a full time job. That was me, and I’m not callous.
LeBron’s scholarship offer would have been ideal for me and my dad. Instead we got the GI Bill.
Both my sons have degrees, jobs, and debt. LeBron would have loved giving them scholarships. They would have loved having one.
Does Phil Knight kick a load of cash for kids into a scholarship fund? Who else in America does more for a college than Mr. Knight? But what about the average student who might drop out, or might try harder if they had an academic goal?
Every state could use some of the goodwill. But LeBron James focuses on his own Ohio neighborhood, not Oregon.
This is a man who finished high school then hit the NBA. He’s a thirty-year-old man with twelve years in the NBA. He’s won, lost, and carried on. What does he know about education?
The NBA carries stats on players going broke. It doesn’t take long after signing a contract, collecting tens of millions, getting all lifestyled up, then leaving the league and losing it all.
The list of “Didn’t you used to be somebody?” is way too long and LeBron sees it every day. He won’t be joining that bunch.
Is his $42 million money spent in the right place?
Michael Jordan takes a bow as the NBA’s first billionaire. Magic Johnson’s business experience gives him post-NBA superstardom to go with his playing career. Have either of them LeBron’d Up?
James goes to the mat to let kids know someone besides the influences in their neighborhoods has their best interests in mind. And he’s still playing in his prime years.
The next time you see a list of rich people, really rich people, check their accomplishments.
Investments in technology, gas, oil, telecoms, got them to the big time. Buying politicians, changing tax codes, and pushing their best interests keep them in the big time.
They need to heed the education of LeBron James and find their own Akron, their own schools, and show the checks and balances that kids need to follow to qualify for their own college scholarship programs.
How many kids never get a chance tor dream, to play in a meaningful game, to walk like a champion?
Instead of collecting assets and buying influence, why not throw down for those who will remember you all their lives, who will pass down your good will for generations.
It takes a man to make the sort of pledge LeBron made.
Are our favorite billionaires man enough to follow his lead? Warren Buffett made the news when he said he was funneling his wealth into the Gates Family.
Hey Warren, take a look at the LeBron Family too. And remember, if you like college sports, college comes first.
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