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Shaquille O'Neal Discusses Investing, Franchising, and Donuts | WSJ

Jun 04, 2021
I want to be more than just Shaq, see that Shaq's guys are going to fade because you have Steph Curry and all these guys that step up the shot are going to fade at some point, but dr. Shaquille O'Neal won't be around forever dr. Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, welcome, how are you sir? Well, I call you doctor because, unbeknownst to many people, you have a doctorate in education. Yes it's correct. Tell me about the franchises he is involved with. My favorite at the moment. it's Krispy Kreme, our relationships with five guys from 24-hour Fitness and you know, but my favorite right now is Krispy Kreme and why?
shaquille o neal discusses investing franchising and donuts wsj
Because I like

donuts

and Charles Barkley loves

donuts

, he's my biggest customer. Nova cryptocube is simply a fabulous love. I met him in college and I've been in love with him ever since, so I have some friends now. Fran, options are looking to get more. I want to be a big part of that business, so I was reading about your relationship with Carnival and they called you CFO. It was confusing because normally it's CFO, but for you it's a different title, what is it, it's fun director, if you're not hurt, you know CFO, oh great, no one else tags you.
shaquille o neal discusses investing franchising and donuts wsj

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shaquille o neal discusses investing franchising and donuts wsj...

That's my job to make people aware of how fun Carnival Cruise Line is. I admit I used to be a hypocrite about it. I lived across from the terminal and the only thing I saw passing by was a big ship with a lot of windows. so I figured it's for old people, it's boring, there's nothing to do, but one day I was walking around and I said let me go see one of the boats, which was one of the best things I've ever said in my life, restaurants , activities for children, full court. basketball court pool nightclub I had I was I was surprised then I had a I doing convoy I said I don't think people know what you throw they went there let me let me be the one to tell them because again when you like in the past if you tell me Cruz, I'm thinking brother, not now, that's for old people, I don't do that, but it's not for people, it's for everyone and it's affordable and I stayed in a lot of luxury. luxurious hotels in Las Vegas, that's the same thing, talking about the rooms, the decoration, everything is amazing, what was your first investment, my first big investment, once it was Google, I mean, I had a lot of small minor investments you know , people will come and say and let's make some striped jackets with a witty look, yes, with the King of England's crest, people are going to like it, you give me $100 and I gave you a million in a year .
shaquille o neal discusses investing franchising and donuts wsj
I did a lot of things and things like that. It never worked, so one day I was sitting playing at the Beverly Hills Hotel and I heard these two gentlemen talking about Google search engines and one day your phone will be there, so you type anything and it comes up and I was like, "Oh, say that". again, oh hey, how are you, Shaq, come here, listen to this boom boom boom boom? I would like to invest in this, oh my gosh, I plugged it when we invested and I completely forgot about it and then I read the article and everyone else read an article. about the great success that some of the early investors received when you look at the perfect pictures, it seems like I'm at home saying: do this, do that, do that today, you just know you're in the right place in time and you just know it. and only opportunities come, so you still have to have a skill to be able to weigh those opportunities, how do you know who to trust?
shaquille o neal discusses investing franchising and donuts wsj
My ability is if something shows up on my desk and I don't believe in it, I won't even look at it. Oh, so I guess not that feeling, it's just one. I can't lie to people, right? Yes, oh god, it feels like my favorite story. I want to respect anybody, but after my first championship, Wheaties, my people are like, man, I want it to be you. on the cover of Wheaties I said I can't do that I said what do you mean brother breakfast champions I said I don't know what it tastes like I'll never try it what do you mean I said ice cold flakes so it would all be mine First choice if you want to talk to me about cereal business in Froot Loops, den Fruity Pebbles, period, there's nothing to talk about when I do business, it's never about the monetary aspect, it's about changing people's lives, letting the people you know understand that you know you can.
I still have fun, so that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to say: Hey, you don't know us on this ship. Let me show you, let me tell you, and by the way, it's not expensive. I know. I just told you we have 50. 60 options, but guess what the bail price is, so that's what I'm doing now on the road. Do you see your opportunity? You come back and have a conversation. We have always said that it has many great restaurants in its place. Welfare people like chicken. I don't see the point of excess chicken. This is what I'm doing.
Would you like to participate? Yes, I never thought that you are yours. You have to have a business conversation with them, so I'm launching my first big chicken in 2020 on the radiance ship, that will be the first one, but again, every time I do business, it's not about the money. I heard Jeff Bezos say one time when he was speaking, he said that he makes the investment out of it and it's based on whether it's going to change people's lives. lives and once I started doing that strategy I think I'm probably pretty Drupal what I'm worth now let's talk about the future you've been very successful in the business world you've made movies you've gotten involved I've done all kinds of things, but what is most important to you now.
I have many dreams and aspirations. The first is to be a sheriff somewhere, that's my next big dream. The second is law school. The third is to open schools for children from kindergarten to fourth grade. There is a school around the corner from my house. I love it. I call it a problem-free school. All the things we have going on and I live in the deep south of South Georgia won't stop, but south of Atlanta, all the things we have going on. I will pass the school every day, black and white children playing, hugging and kissing.
Spanish kids running around and everyone knows me as Uncle Shaq. I'll stop by and play with them. I love that law by having a the law firm is part of their plan, right, yes, I will be what sparked that interest, but what sparked our interest is having a little bit of success in owning things. I want to be a lawyer, I don't know, but I would like to educate myself in it. what it takes to become a lawyer take the exam pass the exam and then go back to my concept of teamwork let me get a law firm.
I'm going to give myself a big point. are boom, I mean, I would like to get five or six lawyers, we put them together, we have a guy make the arrangements for me, I handle them all, we would be very successful, that is one of the dreams I have. I'd like to sit down and make up the things I want to do and then at some point, do it when you went to LSU, it was a tough front, people were hacking you, what was it that night when they said it was tough? It was something I enjoyed and I always looked at it, it's a solid sound, respect can't be played with, it can be.
I didn't protect you, two of my teammates joined me, which makes 301, we still can't stop you now, we have to beat you up, but you know, growing up with a drill sergeant and being a football player at first , loved people. You know that football was my love, so I always like contact. I always like to bring the pain and I can receive the pain, so that gave you that toughness, yeah, definitely, the toughness underneath that and you know, and it actually helped me make a big business decision because again my parents were raising against stress. so my whole plan was to stay for years.
Graduate school didn't make me a professional, but the first time I had to make a business decision, you know, take all those business courses and read all those books, my favorite book is a fool's guide to starting your own. business, a friend of mine named Gino Moreno gave me that book and said you're going to be, you need to read this book, so I'm sitting there and I'm saying to myself, it's okay if I get hurt this year by people attacking me. On air, the Love Den lawyer will give me a million dollars, but Derrick Coleman just signed for 30 million in '88.
Financially, it'll be up 15 to 20 percent, so he could probably ask for 40 to 50 million. . Do I stay and get the million if I get injured or jump to this 40 million and then go back to school, so it was when I started at the age of 18 that I started thinking like a businessman and I think that was a great decision when you were a child, how did you do it? Business related Did you see yourself as a business person? No no. It was. They taught me scare tactics to become a businessman and then, you know, because again I didn't want to be one of those guys and our family depended on them.
I and everyone admired me. My grandmother used to tell me when we were little. You won't be the one for whatever it is. You will be the one who will make life easier for everyone and I used to tell him. I know a granny, when I get rich I'll buy you a big old house in Newbury Church and I went and it was one of the first things I did to not be one of those things that I said to myself, okay, okay. I'm making a lot of money now, what do I do with it? Metal Jim once here on a piece of paper and said it's $100.
I have $50. He said smart people invest any real estate with this 50, but didn't you have 50 left? But he said that rich people take half of those 50, now you have 25 and you save them, you save them and this you have fun with cars, jewelry, whatever you want. I started doing that and then when I started going to Los Angeles, I started watching. The things that Magic Johnson was doing in the community I said, "Okay, this is what people started talking about and then I started harping on it. You know, my first big purchase was 40 24 Hour Fitness." We did that and then we did some real estate remodeling in Newark.
New Jersey we did it with Deviled about four or five restaurants in Las Vegas we did a couple local car washes we got a couple annuities What's so attractive about the franchise business? You just know again, partnering with another great trusted brand, you know, being in business with people. and you know, having things that Magic Johnson told me when I was 18 when our first mother I met him for the first time because she had an event and they applauded Magic Johnson Newcomb. She was killing it and Magic poofed at this. I said okay. be loved by fans but at some point you want to start owning things and then at 18 I had no idea what I was talking about but as I grew up and moved to Los Angeles and saw it moving around the community, I'm fine, this is what I have to start doing.
You were criticized earlier in your career for branching out, but now that seems to be your strength. Criticism for me is a double-edged war. You can take it, listen to it and fade it away, or you can listen to it and find something. The truth is, it's better for yourself, but I only accept teams, I only accept real reviews from my panel, mother, father, Dale Brown, my parents, Jerome Crawford, college reunion and Perry Rogers, try my panel, the only ones who can affect what I say and what I do, so when I heard something growing up with a drill sergeant, you can't hurt my feelings, no job can hurt my feelings.
I've been to San Antonio, in Germany, so you know what word you could say to hurt my feelings, so I'm scheduled to go well. you're making too many rap albums, you know you got swept three rounds in a row for the last three years, okay, go back to rap, just fall back on that, let's see what you can do. Oh, championship boom, come back to rap. again, another championship boom, we turn to rap, movies and commercials, well, three in a row, so instead of going, sometimes you listen to what people say, specialized people, you respect people you don't respect, you only listen over his people. respect like why it hurts because I like you you are inspected you said something I wouldn't misunderstand if they only reminded him a couple of times I close my eyes and listen okay he's right he's right and that's how I criticize myself because you have to take advantage opportunities, everyone does not have these opportunities.
He never wanted to be a rapper. I never wanted to make movies. I thought so. I dreamed about it, so when I got drafted, Arsenio Hall kept calling me. Hello man. I want you to come on the show, but he always comes back to the story I told you before. My mother said to remember your name. I don't want to appear on your show, Arsenio and a $5,000 suit, and tell you corny stories and have You laugh, we want to do that because that's the format, but in the end I have to make them remember my name, do something different, let me rap to my favorite rock group Arsenio then you can't rap let me show you you did it record companies Bo Momo.
I called the next day right now. I don't want to drive around looking at 10 million contracts for three albums. I saw the opportunity. I said okay, but I don't want to do Island alone. Let me deal with all my favorite artists and you have to pay. Marcus, everyone's okay, so now I'm trying to help them, I'll get them some money to negotiate, but it was my first chance, so I'm walking and I like it and I see a guy, BillyGoing crazy, he said, oh you. I know why I said no, sir, my name, Billy, damn, I've run the exorcist, my man's choice in my house when we started talking.
I have a project for you sir, you will make a movie, man, I'm not acting, well, the good thing is that the view is. You have to play against a basketball player, I don't know if I can do that, we'll pay three million dollars, so this is about learning to sit at home, come on, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that for him When these come up things, it's widely known that your relationship with your mother is a layer and the one thing that really stood out to me in preparing for this interview was also learning about Phillip, your father, and he was not only hard on you, but he was also hard. about the people who worked around you also seemed like they were talking to me about him he was a drill sergeant he was a drill sergeant he was a great disciplinarian and he was a high level juvenile delinquent growing up in northern New Jersey and he knew what What the environment could throw at me, I knew that if I didn't follow the right path I could end up being a follower instead of a leader, so my mind said that I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that you go on the right path and I thanked him every day.
I saw an interview with your coach Dale Brown from LSU and he said that Phil once told him if I think it's time for black people to go in another direction and develop intellectualism so that they can be presidents of corporations instead of janitors, so that they can be generals and in the military instead of sergeants and so they can be head coaches instead of assistants, if you're interested. My son's intellect we could talk about something that inspired him to be that way and how that impacted you. Because he knows that education could generate many things.
You know, education is something that can never be taken away from me. I have to retire. from basketball you have to retire from the NFL you have to retire from being a rapper you have to retire from being an actor but if you have no education what are you doing all that has been one of those stories that we all have What I know is very embarrassing because you know that 60 % of professional athletes after finishing have nothing good. He made that statement because at that time I was a terrible basketball player, six nine thirteen, I couldn't play, I couldn't do it.
He wasn't a dump, but he didn't look good to me, so the only way he could probably go to college and get an academic scholarship, so he really didn't, he didn't want any CDs or Bs if I didn't give them to him. . There will be problems and you know it because I don't care what you are doing in life, if you are an educated man, they can't take anything away from you mm-hmm and you were also in Germany at that time four years in Germany when I was a child, how do you Did that influence? I tell people all the time that the Karate Kid life, the things I went through and my childhood prepared me to become the character known as Shaq, for example, born and raised in the projects. from Newark, New Jersey, he had to move to Germany, he learned to deal with the Europeans who stayed there, he had to move to San Antonio, you know, he deals with everyone, including the Hispanics.
What I'm trying to do is allow me to deal with all people. I speak all languages. Shalom Salaam alaikum. What's up, big friend? How are you doing, sir? I speak every language with everyone and that's another great thing: my dad moves differently every four years. learning different cultures, different religions and just learning people when you think about legacy, a lot of self-made people worry a lot about whether their children will have the work ethic that they had to be able to get to where they are, that's something. What you're worried about in legacy is obviously a big problem for you because I use the same conversation technology that my father used education first because I've told them all along he look, we don't leave another basketball player.
I would like to have engineers, lawyers, hedge fund operators like this, he is a young man from 60 yards or any direction you know. I want from them I want to go the basketball route. I have two older ones. I have two young people with one very, very intelligent. I do not do it. I really care about them, but I don't stress about what I did. I only see education and also stress in business. I tell them now to think about what they want to do when they grow up. I can take it there, but you want.
You know, take it to the top like I've lived in Bell here for a long time, I saw a lot of spoiled rich brats walking around, they completed the title. I see that and from what I saw, Micky Arison made a lot of other friends that made the kids. bottle tile exactly what I need to do and my kids are wonderfully smart like they're so smart sometimes I said I don't think we need to go to the Maury Povich Show because there's no way I'm your dad. all this because I mentioned my parents. I am very successful.
He wasn't one of those guys who got a 1900 on the SAT or a 40 on the AC T. He wasn't one of those guys that I've only come to academics about, that she talked about. so you know, listening to the people who saw the vision that I didn't see, following that vision to the letter and the good people around me, I would say I'm a lucky person.

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