[Benis007]

great piece on espn.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=magic

LAS VEGAS -- In the scorching late summer heat, hundreds of people wait in line at the Sport Chalet, not a slot machine or card table in sight.

Far from the famed Vegas Strip, they're here to collect the easiest jackpot in town -- a guaranteed signature and photo-op session with Earvin "Magic" Johnson. All that's required is to buy some Magic32 shoes or apparel.

If that isn't enough, there's a potential bonus for the alert fan -- an eerily familiar-looking young man with a golden smile -- standing quietly behind the former Lakers superstar.

Every once in a while, a fan stops on the way out, and the same conversation will occur over and over again.

"Wait, are you Magic's son?" they'll ask the young man who stands 6-foot-2 and wears a Magic32 polo shirt.

"Yes sir," the Hall of Famer's eldest says.

"Do you play basketball?"

That always comes next.

"Not anymore," he replies, as if reading from a script. "I'm in business now."

That's where the conversation usually ends. Guys who choose to make a living in suits don't generate as much excitement as guys who make millions in jerseys.

"I know people are going to ask me about basketball," Andre Johnson says. "That doesn't bother me. I just tell them that I don't want to be a player. I want to be the guy that signs the checks to the players. They make way more money."

Andre knows whereof he speaks. He has seen it first-hand.

His father has used his celebrity to become the most successful athlete-turned-businessman ever. Magic Johnson is the only franchisee of Starbucks. He owns Loews movie theaters. Burger Kings. He has revenue-sharing deals with Washington Mutual Bank home-loan centers, 24-Hour Fitness clubs and TGI Fridays. He endorses shoes, T-shirts and basketballs that bear his name. And he is a partner in the Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, the country's largest private real estate fund focused on the development of urban properties.

The total holdings of Magic Johnson Enterprises are estimated to be worth $700 million.

Magic says his HIV, which he revealed to the world almost 14 years ago, is dormant, his T-cell count is high and he is in good health: "There's no cure for this, but medicine has done its part for me."

Still, he has begun the process of a very public succession. In five years, if everything goes as expected, a 29-year-old Andre Johnson will be named president and CEO, managing all of the business relationships with his father's name on them.

"If he's not ready in five years, we're both not doing our jobs," says Magic, who will be 51 in August 2010. "But I'm really getting him ready and he's learning fast. By the time he's at the top, my goal is for him to only call me in when he needs help on a big decision."

[ansoncarter]

what about his other kids? don't they get anything?

this is like King Lear except with Magic Johnson