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Tom Gores has many of the spoils you’d expect of a self-made private equity billionaire: an NBA team, a Los Angeles mansion and a glitzy Beverly Hills office where he can throw parties for his friend Leonardo DiCaprio. But it’s that ownership of the Detroit Pistons that may be nearest to the heart of this proud son of Michigan. Back in May, as the team was ending its best season since 2008, he praised supporters for sticking by them through the bad times. “It wasn’t that long ago I was apologizing,” the Platinum Equity founder said. “I want to thank the fans for hanging in there. I think the team needed them.”
The contract was, however, much richer than Aspiration’s deals with other endorsers, according to the former executive who related that Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. both received less than $2 million in equity, while Drake invested $4 million but also received carbon offsets.
One of the funniest parts about this whole thing is that you had Leonardo DiCaprio, you had Robert Downey Jr., you had Drake—some of the most charismatic communicators in public in our country (Drake notwithstanding these days, but whatever). And the guy making more than four times as much as everybody—including Cindy Crawford, Orlando Bloom, blah blah blah—was the worst of all of the athletes in that regard.
Leonardo DiCaprio: Kobe was truly larger than life, a legend. May he and all those who lost their lives today rest in peace. Love and condolences to his family. LA will never be the same.
This was May 2013, years before the Warriors signed Steph Curry to his current $201 million mega contract. The endorsement money, which now more than doubles his yearly salary, was just a tiny droplet compared to the flood of revenue it’s become. His fourth season, he made $3.9 million. It had just ended. So Curry was rich, but his net worth wasn’t yet similar to Drake’s. He was famous, but his social media following wasn’t yet in the Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith stratosphere. “Back when I was taking commercial flights,” Curry said, laughing lightly at how casual that sentence has become. “I never flew private.”
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Steve Soute, who along with James co-produced the HBO documentary Student-Athlete, which cast the NCAA as corrupt, said James is engaged in the entertainment projects. “He has an active interest in reading scripts and looking at content,'' Soute told USA TODAY Sports, "and knowing what stories he wants his name attached to.'' It hasn't taken long for James to capitalize on living in Laker Land. In July, paparazzi got tipped off and documented James emerging with Al Pacino and Leonardo DiCaprio after dinner at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Since announcing his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Lakers, James has granted just one extensive interview – to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Lakers will do a video tribute for Bryant before the game and tributes at timeouts and breaks throughout the game. After the game, Bryant will address the crowd. Buss referenced the speech given by Leonardo DiCaprio after he won an Oscar as an inspiration for the franchise's celebration of Bryant. "He made a point to say that he would not take it for granted, and that's an important thing for people in life," she said. "To know the things that are truly special and that don't happen every day and really kind of remark and honor that. To me, that's what this year was about."