Shaq has a wild story about spending $70,000 at Walmart — the biggest purchase in company history (2024)

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What did Shaq spend $70000 on at Walmart? ›

So when I get to Phoenix, they, you know, they have an apartment for me. Nothing's in it. So 23 in the morning, I gotta go get 4 or 5 TVs, I gotta go get printers, gotta go get laptops, gotta go get appliances, sheets, towels, underwear, T shirts. So at the end, it was 70,000.

Shaquille O'Neal Owns The Biggest Purchase in Walmart History.

O'Neal said in an interview with HBO that he once spent $70,000 at Walmart in a single visit. When the Miami Heat traded Shaq to the Phoenix Suns, his apartment wasn't furnished, so he went to Walmart to buy all of his essentials.

However, when he arrived in Arizona at past midnight, he was greeted to an empty apartment and O'Neal was not ready to hang around for someone to furnish it. So he headed out to WalMart, which used to be open 24/7 in the United States, to go out and buy everything you can think of to fill up his new apartment.

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In 2024, Shaquille O'Neal, also known as Shaq, has a net worth of around $500 million. This impressive sum comes not just from his basketball career but also from smart investments, various business projects, and his real estate holdings.

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Key stat: Walmart was the biggest US retailer by US sales in 2022 with nearly $500 billion in sales, more than double the size of runner-up Amazon, according to the National Retail Federation.

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What store did Shaq buy? ›

Today, reports confirm that Shaq is the second-largest individual to own shares in Authentic Brand Group, which owns JCPenney, Forever 21, and, ironically, Reebok. While he may sell a hefty million shoes per month, O'Neal is no stranger to using the fortune he's amassed to help others.

The Walton trio have garnered more than $45 billion in total from stock sales and dividends over the years, per Bloomberg. Together with other relatives, they own more than 1.25 billion shares, or more than 45% of the company — a stake valued at over $220 billion.

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On average, a U.S. Walmart store pulls in $1.1 billion annually, which translates to roughly $3 million in sales every single day.

Shaq's Walmart spending spree

The 2000 NBA MVP was impatient and wanted to fill his apartment with all the required amenities. So he made a quick run to a nearby Walmart early in the day and purchased whatever he wanted, from multiple large TVs to laptops, for a grand total of $70,000.

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal admits he didn't understand how taxes worked when he first started making a lot of money in the early '90s. In fact, he learned the hard way. When O'Neal signed his first million-dollar trading card contract, he blew through the check in one day, buying cars and jewelry.

O'Neal has owned as many as 40 24 Hour Fitness gyms, 150 car washes, 155 Five Guys Burger & Fries, nine Papa John's, 17 Auntie Anne's pretzels and a few Krispy Kreme restaurants. He has sold some of these holdings, including all of his Five Guys holdings. Potentially more impressive is O'Neal's venture portfolio.

Shaq owns part of The General, Gold Bond, Icy Hot, Buick, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Forever 21, JCPenney, and more. Shaq is an investor, board member, and strategic advisor for several companies. He has served on the board of directors for Papa John's, a pizza chain, and Carnival Cruise Line.