LeBron James reveals the $5.2m item he has 'locked in a vault' incase he falls on hard times

LeBron James has admitted that he has an emergency plan in case he loses it all involving two rare items.

It's no secret that throughout his stories and highly-successful career, James has made a serious amount of money.

As a four time NBA champion, four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, three-time Olympic gold medallist and the holder of several basketball records, James isn't just one of the greatest of all time, he's also one of the wealthiest.

According to Forbes, the 41-year-old has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, placing him ahead of the likes of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Despite this, the NBA legend is acutely aware that one day he could lose it all, and so he's prepared the perfect fail-safe to ensure that even if all of his wealth vanishes, he'll be ok.

That's because he's got a vault hidden away somewhere that includes 'one or two' of one of the most sought after pieces of sports memorabilia in the world, his Topps rookie edition card.

“I think my rookie card sold for the most, but I heard it’s like crazy. I happen to maybe have one or two of those cards locked in a vault somewhere," James admitted.

"So, just in case I ever fall on hard times, I’m good.”

Back in 2021 a lucky fan sold this rookie card for a whopping $5.2million (£3.9m), with the value likely to have increased dramatically in the five years since then.

In fact, after all was said and done, the new owner of the 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autograph card actually paid $6.4m (£4.8m) after all fees and taxes were included.

Therefore, if James really does have at least one, maybe even two, of these cards, he's likely got a vault that's worth somewhere north of £7m, certainly enough for him to fall back on should he need to.

Add to this the fact that James being able to verify that he owned the specific cards would no doubt rocket their value, and he's sitting on an amount of money that most would only dream of.

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What are the most expensive sports cards or all time?

Despite this, James' super rare rookie card doesn't even come close to being the most expensive sports card ever sold, as that honour instead is held by two fellow NBA greats.

In August 2025, a 2007–08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autograph including both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant sold for more than double James' rookie card.

Overall, one collector paid a stunning $12.9m (£9.6m) for the card, breaking the official Guinness world record for the most expensive sports trading card sold at auction.

In total 82 bids were received for the card, with the final price more than doubling the pre-auction estimate.

However, James does feature on twice in the top six most expensive sports cards of all time, with his rookie card sitting at the bottom of the list.

The 2006-07 Upper Deck Exquisite Dual Logoman Autographs inlcuding both James' and Jordan's signatures sits third on the list having sold for $10 (£7.4m).