Charles Barkley GOES OFF on athletes going broke in chase of luxury cars

Chuck knows how to handle his finances as displayed from his passionate advise on Shannon Sharpe's podcast.

Charles Barkley GOES OFF on athletes going broke in chase of luxury cars

Charles Barkley dislikes spending money on cars

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is one of the wealthiest retired athletes in the world. The Sixers legend has made more fortune in his retirement than his whole NBA career. However, as players’ salaries have skyrocketed in the last two decades, Barkley knows where the youngsters go wrong in handling their paychecks.

The last time Barkley played, the average salary of an NBA player was $1.93 million, compared to today’s $9.7 million. As such, in a recent episode of Shannon Sharpe‘s podcast, Barkley emphasized the investment that the concerned player will have left following retirement. Barkley recounted a story from his past to tell athletes not to spend massive amounts on cars. 

I had 3 or 4 cars, and Dr. J says, 'How many of those cars can you drive at the same time?'. I said one; he said, 'Why you got four?' He says, 'This money gotta last you the rest of your life.' He says, 'Son, don't waste all your money on cars, everybody know who you are.' He says, 'You pull up in a KIA, they know, Oh that's Charles Barkley. You pull up in a Mercedes Benz or a Rolls Royce, that's Charles Barkley... It's a fact that, that $300K you spent on that Bentley, if you bought a car for $70K-$80K you would've had $200K more in the bank.'
Charles Barkley via Club Shay Shay podcast
YouTube video

Barkley makes a great point about over 80% of the athletes going broke. At one point, he also faced such an issue. There are Hall of Famers who lost a significant amount of their fortune. Some of the famous ones include Dennis Rodman, Allen Iverson, Latrell Sprewell, and more.

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On the other hand, retired Hall of Famers like Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal have established their fortunes quite well. O’Neal has become a successful entrepreneur with various franchises. As such, Barkley’s point on spending an adequate amount of money remains a valuable lesson.

Charles Barkley does not like to waste money on cars

While Barkey could own any car he wanted, Chuck looks at buying cars as a waste of money. According to the legend, he owns a KIA rather than a luxury car. In one of the episodes of Jennifer Hudson Show, Barkley talked about the worst purchase of his life. It is safe to say that the Hall of Famer is a conservative spender.

A Porsche, earlier in my career, cars are st****. You don't waste money on cars. That's just st****. I actually bought two Porsches and then I realized that they make you go fast. Like now in my life I have KIA. It gets me from A to B. I'm just trying to get to A to B.
Charles Barkley via Jennifer Hudson Show
YouTube video

Today, Barkley is worth $70 million and does own some of the luxurious cars, including Bentley, Audi, Lincoln, and others. While having luxury cars is not a problem for athletes who can afford them, it may cost them a lot in the future. Chuck’s wise advice can help a lot of younger athletes who are looking to make big-time and are trying to save as much finances as possible.

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