Wilton Norman Chamberlain was a professional basketball player, born on 21 August 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, to Olivia Johnson and William Chamberlain. He is considered as one of the most successful players in NBA history. He passed away in October 1999.
So how rich was Wilt Chamberlain? According to sources, Chamberlain had a net worth reaching $10 million. He owned a one-million dollar luxurious mansion in Bel-Air, a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Le Mans-style car called Searcher One valued at $750,000. After his death, his estate was valued at $25 million. Chamberlain had acquired his fortune during his long career as a professional basketball player as well as through his later businesses.
Wilt Chamberlain Net Worth $10 Million
Chamberlain attended Overbrook High School where he became a successful player for the school basketball team the Overbrook Panthers. He physically dominated other players with his height being 6’11” at the time. He led the team to a series of victories, with season records being 19-2, 19-0 and 18-1. Upon matriculating from high school, more than 200 university basketball teams wanted to enroll the young player. Chamberlain chose to attend the University of Kansas in 1955, where he became the member of the Kansas Jayhawks team. In 1957 he led the team to the NCAA finals. Although his team lost, Chamberlain performance was remarkable. He went on to make the all-America and all-conference teams. In 1958 Chamberlain left the college without graduating. The magazine Look bought his story “Why I Am Leaving College” for $10 million, which proves how great and valuable the player had become even before he became professional.
Chamberlain was not allowed to enter the NBA as he hadn’t finished his last college year. Since he had to wait for a year to join the NBA, the player joined the Harlem Globetrotters team. In 1959 he joined his first NBA team the Philadelphia Warriors and signing a contract for $30,000, which is today’s $244,000. His salary was later increased to $65,000 which equals today’s $520,000. This considerably boosted Chamberlain’s wealth, as he was also the highest paid player.
In his impressive rookie season he broke eight records and earned several awards. During this time, his rivalry with the Celtics player Bill Russel began. In 1962 he became the first player in NBA to score 100 points in a single game, a record which still stands. He also became the first NBA player to score over 4, 000 points during a season. Chamberlain was selected for the All-NBA first team for 1960, 1961 and 1962. The Warriors was then sold to San Francisco businessmen and moved to become the San Francisco Warriors.
In 1965 Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He led the team to a win against the Celtics in division finals and then score an NBA Championship win over the San Francisco Warriors. He became the only NBA center who finished the season being the assist leader.
In 1968 Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He led the team to the second of two NBA championship victories, against the New York Knicks and earned $1.5 million while with the Lakers, which greatly increased his fortune.
Chamberlain retired in 1973 with amazing career statistics. Apart from his 100-point game, he is the only player to average more than 50 points per game in a season, and average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, which he did seven times; also the same average covers his whole career.
The same year he released his book “Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door” and soon became involved in business and entertainment, stocks and real estate as well as in broodmares investitions. He was making money in every field.
Chamberlain took a great interest in volleyball and he built his own volleyball and track and field teams as well as his own athletic club. He became the president of the International Volleyball Association in 1975, which led to his induction into Volleyball Hall of Fame. The following year he started his film production and distribution company and made his first film “Go For It”. In 1978 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Chamberlain appeared in various commercials and also in the 1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Conan the Destroyer”. In 1991 he released his second book “A View from Above” and in 1997 another one called “Who’s Running the Asylum? Inside the Insane World of Sports Today”.
In his personal life, Chamberlain was a huge womanizer. In one of his books he stated that he had slept with over 20, 000 women during his life. He never married or had children. In 1999 Chamberlain died of heart failure being aged 63. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
