Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson revealed that earnings from his Starbucks ventures provided a significant portion of the funds for his $2.15 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Johnson, who contributed approximately $50 million of his own money to the deal with Guggenheim Baseball Management, outlined his financial strategy during a 2025 appearance on the "Earn Your Leisure" podcast, a clip of which recently resurfaced.
Johnson explained his approach to building his Starbucks enterprise, Urban Coffee Opportunities. "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," he stated. The strategy focused on scaling the business and preparing for an eventual sale.
"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," Johnson said. His joint venture with Starbucks consisted of 105 stores. After building this network, Johnson sold his 50% interest back to Starbucks in 2010, a transaction that generated between $75 million and $100 million. "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."
While the Starbucks sale provided a substantial sum, it represented only a fraction of the total cost to acquire the Dodgers franchise. The team is currently valued at approximately $8 billion, indicating a significant potential return on Johnson's initial investment should he decide to sell his stake.
