Dwyane Wade’s Net Worth is $175 Million
Dwyane Wade (a.k.a. “Flash”) is an absolute beast on the basketball court and a pretty cool entrepreneur off it. He’s got hoops skills and money moves that have combined to grant him a $175 million net worth. He started his life journey in the American Midwest, developed as a true homegrown talent, then reached the upper echelons of the game to become a three-time NBA champ.
Ready for the ingredients of Dwyane’s life? Well, it’s a cocktail of sweaty jerseys and kickass business moves. Also included is family, with an early life spent shooting hoops on the streets of Chicago with his father and stepbrothers. He climbed his way up to become one of the brightest stars in basketball. Once he reached that peak, he took advantage. With his millions earned, he started planting seeds into off-court ventures. Many b-ballers waste their fortune, but not Dwyane. Want to see just how he became the exception to the rule? Read on.
| Name: | Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. |
| Profession: | Professional Basketball Player |
| Net Worth: | $175 Million |
| Birthplace: | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Birthday: | January 17, 1982 (Capricorn) |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height / Weight: | 6 ft. 4 in. (193 cm) |
| Relationship Status: | Married (to Gabrielle Union) |
The Genesis of a Basketball Legend
Dwyane Wade was born in 1982, in Chicago, Illinois. Life for Wade was all about hoops and dodging the not-so-glam side of his hometown. His passion for basketball grew under the watchful eye of his dad, after moving into a new neighborhood with him and his stepbrothers. His talent flourished at Harold L. Richards High School; it was clear Wade was something special.
It wasn’t only his talent that soared in high school; Wade hit over the 6 ft. mark and turned up the heat on his game. Senior year was like a slam dunk fest for him, bagging 27 points and 11 rebounds per game on average. But perhaps because of his focus on basketball, his grades lagged and only three colleges saw his hoop dreams.
Despite his academic underachievement, Wade managed to score a spot at Marquette University. He was benched for the 2000-2001 season, but he earned his jersey the next year, impressing everyone with 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game on average. He then led Marquette to its first Conference USA championship since 1977 and a much coveted spot in the NCAA tournament’s Final Four.
In 2003, during the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, Wade scored the fourth triple-double in tournament history! His unreal performance with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists made the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats look like kittens. No surprise that Wade was named MVP of the Midwest Regional Final. Also no surprise Dwyane skipped his last year of university and put his name in the hat for the 2003 NBA draft. Enter Miami Heat, who snapped him up as the fifth overall pick. A future NBA legend had arrived.
Scoring Big: Revenues from Basketball
Dwyane Wade owes much of his fortune to his time on the court, with 2018 bringing in $17.8 million just from his galactic-sized salary and winnings.
Wade was a Miami Heat rookie in 2003 but that didn’t mean he didn’t contribute to the team’s efforts throughout the season. It’s also doesn’t mean the team didn’t appreciate the skills he possessed. He earned his keep right from his first season, stacking up a cool $2,636,400. Over his career, Wade made $196,388,473 playing in the NBA, his six-year, $107.2-million contract with Miami Heat representing much of those earnings.
Later, Wade headed home and, in 2016, inked a two-year, $47-million deal with the Chicago Bulls. Clearly preferring the sun to the snow, Wade headed back to Miami and called it quits in 2019, but not before scoring one last contract that netted him $2.4 million.
Striding Beyond the Court: Alternative Revenue Streams
By 2018, Wade was raking in $14 million just from endorsements every year. Playing a big part was his partnership with Chinese sports gear giant, Li-Ning. He became a part of the company and even launched his own shoe line, “Way of Wade.” The deal not only earned Wade a ton of money, it made him a global sensation.
He also dabbled in the food world, co-starting “800° Woodfired Kitchen”, and lent his name to “Budweiser Zero,” a zero-alcohol beer.
He’s even realized there’s gold in them digital hills, and dove into the NFT market. And, to show that he hadn’t forgotten his roots, he invested in sports franchises like NBA’s Utah Jazz and MLS’s Real Salt Lake.
Wade is even into wine. So much so, he started his own wine company, Wade Cellars, and it’s been doing pretty well in the past few years.
Posh Possessions and Noble Ventures
Property-wise, D-Wade and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, have played the real estate game from coast to coast. They had a fancy beach house in Miami, which they sold for $22 million last year. The couple also set up shop in L.A. for a while in a home that raked in $5.9 million when they sold it. They haven’t said goodbye to the Golden State just yet though, owning as they do a 17,000-foot property in Hidden Hills worth more than $17 million.
Not just a land shark, D-Wade’s garage is also a sight to behold. You’ll find all kinds of shiny metal beasts in there, like a Cadillac Escalade EXT and a Hummer H2 SUT. He’s also got a killer Porsche 911 and the ultimate in sports car luxury, a Mercedes SLR McLaren.
While Dwyane Wade sure knows how to spend his money, he also likes to give back. In 2003, he set up the Wade’s World Foundation, supporting local groups that help kids in tough situations get access to education, social skills, and health care. He’s also joined forces with ex-teammate Alonzo Mourning’s charity, kept a public library in Robbins, Illinois, from closing down and co-founded a relief fund for Haiti’s earthquake victims.
A Glimpse into Dwyane Wade’s Personal Life
Dwyane and Gabrielle Union, a Hollywood starlet, tied the knot in 2014. Despite some ups and downs, including a brief break and a baby scandal where Dwyane had a child with another woman, they’re still going. They even welcomed a daughter, Kaavia, in 2018 through surrogacy.
Wade’s family extends beyond his own kids though. He’s guardian for his nephew, Dahveon Morris, showing just how far he’s willing to go for his loved ones. His eldest, Zaire, is living the hoop dreams, just like his old man. And when his kid Zaya came out as trans, the entire Wade-Union clan were beyond supportive.
Before Union entered the picture, Wade was married to his high school love, Siohvaughn Funches. That love story ended poorly, however, with a messy divorce in 2010.
Dwyane’s Journey Through Controversy and Resilience
That divorce from Siohvaughn Funches brought quite a bit of unwanted attention to Wade’s life. The nightmare started in 2007. Up for debate were the usual issues of contention: money matters and child custody. The matter was finally resolved in 2013, with a judge ordering Wade to cough up $5 million to his ex-wife. And there was a “non-disparage” agreement thrown into the mix too, which saw both parties agree not to disparage the other in public.
Even though his personal life was in the dumps, Wade barely skipped a beat in his career. He stayed true to himself and kept his eye on the ball, and enjoyed on-court success despite the turmoil of his family.
