NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has millions of fans around the world and is also one of the richest athletes ever. However, he has had to work his way through some very tough circumstances.

Shaq came from humble beginnings and his parents worked day and night in order to provide a good education for their children. Needless to say, their hard work has paid off phenomenally.

In an interview recently in Australia, O’Neal revealed what changed him as a person during his childhood. He once almost took a kid’s life as Shaq was the bully. The boy survived, but Shaq had learned his lesson.

Moreover, an incident with his mother also changed his outlook on life. Shaq said, “One day, my mother and I was riding through a really nice neighborhood. She just stopped and pulled over, and looked at this house.”

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“Just to see her dream and look at that house, I knew that I had the opportunity to make a lot of money,” he added.

As it turns out, the house was a small one, compared to Shaq’s multiple residences. However, the Big Diesel’s parents couldn’t afford it with their average salaries. After that, Shaq told the audience that he works so hard in his life so that his mother can have nice things that make her happy.

Shaquille O’Neal has worked his way up the NBA and the media industry to become who he is today. He has four NBA titles to his name alongside various other individual accolades, like three Finals MVP awards.

Moreover, he has had a successful career in the media industry as well. Thanks to such ventures and smart investments, Shaq has amassed a huge net worth of around $400 million according to reports. 

Despite struggling initially, Shaquille O’Neal has made it big now

Although he might have struggled early on in his life, the former Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal is living a lavish life currently. As mentioned by himself in the interview, he owned a 76,000 square feet house.

The estate is located in Orlando, where Shaq started his career. The mansion has two bedrooms, 11 baths and four half baths, a chef’s kitchen, and a fancy 17-car garage. Moreover, it also houses a 95-foot-long luxury pool, a home theater, and a 6,000 square feet basketball court.

After trying to sell his mansion for a long time, Shaq finally sold it last year.  After buying the mansion for around $4 million in 1993, Shaq was able to sell it for around $16.5 million in 2021.

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