Huge fortune and properties left behind by Kobe Bryant – realestate.com.au

The death of Kobe Bryant has turned the sports world upside down.

The NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, near LA, on January 26, 2020.

At the time of his death, the 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers icon was worth $680 million, making him one of the richest athletes of all time.

The basketball great had made a few stints in the real estate industry. He lived with his wife Vanessa and their children in a house he bought from his agent for $9.45 million ($A13.7 million) in 2008, The American sun reports.

MORE: Beckham has exposed Peltz’s shocking wealth gap

‘Couldn’t Wait’ to Leave: Irwin’s Real American Feelings

Huge twist at Hackman’s death house uncovered

Bryant had purchased one of the properties for his mother-in-law to live in, but later sold it for a profit of millions of dollars.

---

Bryant has sold two other properties in the same Newport Beach neighborhood for a profit in the past decade.

The retired sports star also owned the office space for his companies, which he bought for US$5.8 million ($8.4 million) in 2015.

Nine months after the five-time NBA champion’s death, his wife Vanessa put their investment home in Irving, California, up for sale for $1.995 million.

Two days later, someone picked up the house for $2 million, the newspaper said Los Angeles Times.

The office space for his companies, which he bought for $5.8 million in 2015.

---

What was Kobe Bryant’s fortune?

Bryant’s vast fortune was mainly amassed during his NBA career, after spending two decades in professional sports.

He also had a number of business ventures and sponsorship deals with brands such as Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz and Hublot.

After retiring, he turned the millions he earned during his years with the Los Angeles Lakers into more than a billion dollars.

He did this through endorsement deals, by expanding into a variety of media projects and, above all, by founding a venture capital firm that – at one point – had assets of more than US$2 billion ($2.9 billion).

The five-time NBA champion died as one of only seven athletes worth a billion dollars.

The entire Bryant fortune was reportedly inherited by his wife Vanessa and their three surviving children, Natalia, Bianka and Capri.

The family also gained control of its share of the sports drink BodyArmor.

Bryant’s enormous fortune was mainly amassed during his NBA career. Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

---

Bryant and wife Vanessa at the 2009 ESPY Awards. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for ESPY

---

Kobe Bryant’s career

Bryant’s fame transcended sports and he was truly a global icon, feared and respected by opponents and fans alike.

The great basketball player remains one of the deadliest shooters to ever play the game, but was also a hugely effective defensive force on the other end of the court.

He was active from 1996 to 2016 and was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons.

Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets 24 years ago, but the franchise immediately traded him to the LA Lakers.

In Los Angeles, Bryant built a career as a pure sports entertainer and fan favorite.

He won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest and was named an All-Star only in his second season.

And by the mid-2000s, he was breaking records without breaking a sweat.

Bryant waves as he leaves the court after the game against the Charlotte Hornets in 2015. Photo: Reid Kelley/NBAE via Getty Images

---

In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history.

With the Lakers, Bryant won five NBA championships, the last in 2010.

A rarity in sports, Bryant was a one-team man. Over the course of a stellar career, he played for just ONE NBA side and became a global face of both the franchise and the league itself.

Bryant played shooting guard for the Lakers from his 1996 draft until his retirement in 2016.

He scored a total of 33,643 points in his career, which works out to about 25 per game.

And at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, he helped lead Team USA to the gold medal.

Parts of this story first appeared in The American sun and was republished with permission.

MORE: Celebrity mansions left to rot after financial ruin

‘Old, fat’: Sad reason why Top Gun star retired from fame

$58 million twist: Freddie Mercury’s ex-feud erupts