How $42 million NBA star built a whopping $550 million real estate business

Pat Connaughton founded Three Leaf Partners, a real estate company with over $550 million in assets under management

How $42 million NBA star built a whopping $550 million real estate business

Pat Connaughton (Image via Boardroom)

The 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA championship after getting past a gauntlet of contenders through their route. Many of their squad members from that year went on to make names for themselves, with some signing big-money deals. Even among their supporting cast, players were able to leverage their performances into life-changing money. Pat Connaughton was one of those players.

He signed a 3-year deal with an average annual value close to $10 million after their championship win in free agency. However, Connaughton’s wealth isn’t tied strictly to his NBA salary. The Massachusetts-born Notre Dame product was a multi-sport star in college, also drafted by MLB team Baltimore Orioles in 2014.

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When Connaughton received his $428,000 signing bonus from the Orioles, he decided to bet on his real estate acumen, investing all of it into a building close to his alma mater. Pat Connaughton‘s dad gave him the idea to invest in a property and flip it for more money. A real estate developer himself, Leonard Connaughton’s idea to flip initial capital into property redevelopment seemed to take a hold on his son’s psyche.

After being drafted by Portland in 2015 as a second-rounder, he continued to use his capital to flipping real estate. Connaughton was also able to bring on the likes of teammate CJ McCollum on some of his projects. He founded Three Leaf Developments during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks to step up his impact on the local community. Since their rebranding in 2020, Connaughton has been working with his collaborators on building affordable housing.

But Connaughton refused to stop his ventures only at housing projects. He wanted to build sustainable housing communities. Three Leaf Partners are also investing in building establishments like churches and university/college campuses. His projects also have a touch of elegance and class that sets them apart from an average housing community.

Bucks swingman Pat Connaughton now holds over $550 million in assets under management

During his past 7 years in Milwaukee, Connaughton has already built 15 real estate projects. This includes a Holiday Inn, an Irish Quarter in South Bend, Indiana and various other picturesque housing projects in and around Milwaukee and Kenosha in Wisconsin.

These projects serve to bring his real estate developments up to a valuation of over $550 million. This is a humongous amount when compared to his career earnings of under $42 million as an NBA player. Clearly, Connaughton has been able to convince local communities, corporators and residents to invest in his image as a socially conscious real estate developer.

Connaughton has already built up a great rapport with the local community. Given his commitment to make a lasting impact in and around the Wisconsin state, he is likely to be remembered more as a real estate mogul than as an NBA player with a 44-inch vertical, or as a pitcher with a 96 mph fastball up his sleeve. That says a lot about the impact that he’s had during his time in Milwaukee.