Junior Bridgeman

Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman is a retired NBA player. Originally drafted in 1975 by the Los Angeles Lakers with the #8 overall pick, he would be traded before the season as part of a blockbuster deal which saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar go from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Lakers.

Bridgeman would have a fairly long career as a key bench player (though before the advent of the Sixth Man Award; it is speculated that he would have won it multiple times) with the Bucks (on two stints; they ultimately retired his #2) as well as the Los Angeles Clippers. He also served as President of the NBA Players Association from 1985-1988.

But as he played during a time when NBA salaries were nowhere near modern ones (he never made more than $350,000 in a season), during the off-season he would work for, and ultimately learn, the ins-and-outs of the restaurant industry. Ultimately, he owned over 100 Wendy's and Chili's franchise locations, before selling out to purchase a Coca-Cola bottling operation, both in Louisville, Kentucky (where he went to college). Later he purchased the popular Black magazines Ebony and Jet out of bankruptcy. Bridgeman's estimated net worth is in excess of $600 million, which ranks him among the wealthiest former athletes in the world. Category;Business