Kevin Durant isn’t just one of the greatest basketball players ever; he just proved he’s a certified investment wizard, too. Insider Joe Pompliano dropped the bomb Thursday: KD and his business partner Rich Kleiman likely bagged over $60 million from an early investment in Hugging Face, a company reportedly acquired by Nvidia for a whopping $12.9 billion. Seriously, this guy doesn’t miss on the court or in the board room!
The Slim Reaper’s Off-Court Dominance
We’re talking about a serious come-up here. Pompliano reported that Durant and Kleiman put $100,000 into Hugging Face’s seed round and another $150,000 in their Series A fundraising. Total investment? Just a quarter-million bucks. To turn that into potentially over $60 million? That’s insane! Pompliano even called it “one of the best athlete investments ever.” While Durant’s exact share isn’t public and the total payout isn’t confirmed, it’s crystal clear he’s benefiting big time from getting in early. He even posted about this investment way back in 2017 on social media. CNBC’s April Roach and Kai Nicol-Schwarz noted this acquisition, if completed, would put a widely used platform for open-source AI models under Nvidia, expanding their reach. Wild stuff.
Is Retirement Knocking for KD?
Now, let’s talk about what this means for KD’s future. The guy’s already made a fortune on the court, raking in $501.1 million in career earnings. He’s set to make $43.9 million this season playing for the Houston Rockets, with a $46.1 million player option for 2027-28. But with this massive investment payout, and him turning 38 years old next month, the retirement talk is getting louder than ever. After former teammate Russell Westbrook called it a career, Durant admitted on an episode of Boardroom Talks that retirement is definitely “on his mind.” He said, “I’m on deck… It’s a young man’s game. Even though I still feel like I can play, I always hear, ‘you’re 38, you’re 39. You’re getting up there.’ I get that. But I put everything into the game, and I’m cool with whatever happens moving forward. I’m going to continue putting everything into the game until I can’t.”
It’s safe to say Durant is set up incredibly well for retirement thanks to both his basketball earnings and this savvy investment. When he does decide to step off the court, maybe he’ll have even more time to dive into investments like this one.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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