How Magic Johnson used Starbucks to fuel $2.2 billion Dodgers purchase

Los Angeles Lakers legend turned entrepreneur Magic Johnson purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers for a staggering $2.15 billion in October of 2012.

Johnson purchased the team with Guggenheim Baseball Management, but reportedly contributed about $50 million of his own money in the deal.

The five-time NBA champion and former Lakers President of Basketball Operations found the funds for this from another business-savvy move, which he spoke about during a “Earn Your Leisure” podcast appearance in 2025 that resurfaced on social media over the weekend.

“So, what I did with Starbucks, I let the first one build the second one. I didn’t take any money from the profits we made. Then I let the second one build the third one, and fourth one, and on, and on, and on. I didn’t take no money out until we built 50 stores,” Johnson said.

“It was important to scale the business, but also put myself in a position where I could sell those stores back to Starbucks and Howard Schultz. We built 125 Starbucks, and now, I was able to sell all of them back. That was my exit strategy, and we did that in five or six years,” he continued.

“I sold Starbucks, and who would have ever thought that the Dodgers would be for sale? So I used the money that came back to me from the Starbucks sale, and put it into the Dodger deal.”

As Johnson was referring to, he sold his 50% interest in Urban Coffee Opportunities (which was his 105-store joint venture with Starbucks) back to the company in 2010 and made in the range of $75 and $100 million for the deal.

Granted, that would only help cover a fraction of the cost it took to buy the Dodgers’ franchise. But $100 million is certainly nothing to scoff at.

The Dodgers are currently valued at around $8 billion. Therefore, Johnson is set to make another staggering return on his initial investment if and when he decides to sell his Dodgers shares.