American LeBron James is the first active player in NBA history to become a billionaire.

Billionaire. American basketball star LeBron James has become the first active NBA player to amass a fortune of over one billion dollars. Forbes magazine, which compiles the lists of the world's richest people, announced this on Thursday.

LeBron James, 37, is considered one of the greatest basketball players in history, with four NBA championship rings, four MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards, and 18 All-Star Game selections.

The league's second all-time leading scorer, James has been able to maximize his career and business ventures to accumulate over 1.2 billion dollars in pre-tax profits, according to Forbes' calculations.

In the NBA, James has earned salaries of over 385 million dollars from the three teams he has played for in his 19-year career: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Lakers.

Off the court, the player has generated over 900 million in revenue from sponsorships, investments, and other projects, such as his involvement last year as an actor in the film "Space Jam: A New Legacy."

It's worth noting that he is the second professional basketball player to make the list after Michael Jordan, who achieved it ten years after retiring from the NBA when he invested in the Charlotte Hornets team.

LeBron had a turbulent final season with the Lakers, missing the playoffs for the fourth time in his career. Nevertheless, last May he appeared in the second position on Forbes' annual list of highest-paid athletes with 121.2 million dollars, surpassed only by Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi (130 million).