David Stern Net Worth – How Rich Is He?

What was David Stern Net Worth?

Net Worth:$135 million
Source of Wealth:American lawyer and Business executive
Age Before Death: 77 years old
Date of Birth:September 22, 1942
Date of Death:January 1st, 2020
Country of Origin:United States of America
Last Updated:2024

David Stern Net Worth: David Stern was a professional sports commissioner and a lawyer who had a net worth of $135 million.

David Stern died of a brain hemorrhage on January 1st, 2020, at the age of 77. He is widely known as a former Commissioner of the NBA. He is popular for his role in taking the NBA to great popularity during his 30 years tenure as commissioner.

David Stern Net worth was estimated to be $135 million.

Early Life

David Stern is one of the three children of Anna and William Stern. He was born in Manhattan, New York, but grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey.

His father, William Stern, was known to run a Jewish delicatessen in Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood precisely.

David grew up to love the New York Knicks and he has his hero be Carl Braun and he always enjoyed the sport, attending as many games as he could with his father.

During his early days of adulthood, he played a little of basketball but got to injure his knee in a New York Lawyers League game.

He attended Teaneck High School and graduated in 1959. This followed by college at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a B.A in history in 1963.

During his days at Rutgers University, he was known to be a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.

David also attended Columbia University for his law school, where he received a J.D in 1996.

Career

David Stern career

David Stern began his career after graduating from law school, and this saw him joining the Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn law firm, which is now called Proskauer Rose.

Proskauer Rose was known to represent the NBA, and during this period, David Stern was the lead attorney who represented his firm in related cases.

A notable case he led was that of Robertson vs the National Basketball Association, which was a lawsuit brought by Oscar Robertson (who was a star player) against the NBA.

In this case, Stern saw the negotiation of a settlement which was seen to allow the merger of the NBA and ABA, as well as the abolishment of the “option” clause, which for the first time, allowed NBA players to become free agents.

1978 saw Stern leaving Proskauer Rose, moving forward to serve as NBA’s General Counsel under Larry O’Brien, who was the then commissioner.

In 1980, Stern was promoted by O’Brien as he was seen to take up the role of Vice president of the NBA towards legal and business affairs.

This promotion saw Stern become the head of television, public relations, and marketing for the National Basketball Commission.

Sterns’s career further saw him becoming the Commissioner of the NBA in February 1984. This was during the league’s darkest hours, and Stern was there to lead to its recovery.

NBA expanded into Canada in 1995, and this introduced the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors into the league.

During his tenure as commissioner, Stern saw the introduction of seven new franchises into the NBA. A franchise such as Timberwolves, Raptors, Hornets, Heat, Magic, Bobcats, and Grizzlies were known to be admitted into NBA during this period. This saw a total of 30 NBA teams by 2004.

Stern announced he’s stepping down as NBA’S commissioner on October 25, 2012, and on February 1, 2014, after completing 30 years as NBA’s commissioner, which is longer than anyone who has handled that position.

The role of Commissioner was taken up by his deputy commissioner, Adam Silver.

David Stern net worth was estimated to be $135 million During his career as NBA Commissioner.

Awards And Achivements

  • In 2014, David Stern was an inductee into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
  • In 2016 he was introduced into the International Basketball Hall of Fame.
  • Stern was also the recipient of W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, which was awarded to him by Harvard University in light to recognize his contribution towards African and African-American culture.
  • He further received the Yale Executive Leadership Institute’s Legend in Leadership Award, which was given to him in celebration of business leaders who have impacted various sectors of business.

David Stern Net Worth

David Stern net worth was estimated to be $135 million During his career as NBA Commissioner. Thus he was one of the richest leaders in the sports sector globally.

David Stern Salary, in his later days, was reported to be between $9 million as an NBA Commissioner.

This enormous amount comes from the growth achieved by the NBA with regards to its revenue under David Stern.

Stern was a known figure which led to this growth during his 30 years tenure as the Commissioner of the NBA, and he will forever be remembered for his impact on the NBA.

Charity

David Stern was known to be one to support various charitable cause. He also encouraged players and teams to promote charitable activities as a medium of contribution to society from the league.

During his reign as commissioner of NBA, in 2005 precisely, Stern supported the establishment go NBA Cares. This is an arm of the league that supports social issues around the world.

Through community outreaches, NBA Cares supports youths, family development, and education.

Since the lunch of this program, players and NBA teams have collectively raised the sum of over $220 million, which they split towards different charity causes.

Personal Life & Death

During his days, David Stern was married to Dianne, and the couple had two sons Eric and Andrew Stern. They all resided in Scarsdale, New York.

Stern suffered a brain hemorrhage on December 12, 2019, and this saw him going for emergency surgery. He died on January 1, 2020, in Manhattan at 77 years of age.

All teams in the NBA wore black bands in his remembrance during the 2019–20 season.

David Stern Quotes

David Stern career

It was the Michael Jordan/Nike phenomenon that really let people see that athletes were OK, and black athletes were OK. Defying a previous wisdom – not only that black athletes wouldn’t sell in white America, but that the NBA as a predominantly black sport could not sell in white America – David Stern

David Stern quote 2

I think it’s… I don’t want to become a social crusader on this issue, but I think sports, male sports, has traditionally not been an inviting environment for gay men to identify themselves. But eventually… we will get to a place where it is not an issue in sports – David Stern

David Stern quote 3

I’ve never found NBA owners to be deferential. I never considered them to be reliant. All that I do is knock myself out to represent their interests the best way I can and sometimes tell them, as part of my job, what they don’t like to hear. – David Stern

David Stern quote 4

I actually don’t hope for a legacy. I think that it impedes your ability to make the hard decisions if you sit around saying, ‘How will this affect my legacy? – David Stern

Notable Lessons from David Stern’s Success

After a thorough review of David Stern net worth and all there is to know about his career when he was alive, below are some notable lessons that can be learned from David Stern Success story.

1. Make Your Mark

David Stern was quite successful in the NBA. During his 30 years tenure as commissioner of the NBA, Stern took the NBA to great heights of success, he was known to take on the NBA in its darkest days, and he took it to quite a great height of popularity, this can teach us to try to make our mark in the sands of times in our various career.

2. Leadership

“Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations”. These were the words of Peter Drucker, and David Sterns’s leadership of the NBA can be summarised in those words.

3. Leadership and Confidence

It takes courage and confidence to be a true leader. A good leader must learn to stand alone and have the courage to make tough decisions, as well as the needed compassion to listen to his followers. He does not start his day to be a leader but rather becomes a leader by means of his actions and his intent.

Final Thoughts

David Stern is a lawyer and professional sports commissioner who is well known for his impact in the NBA after a 30-year tenure as its Commissioner.

Stern showed great leadership skill, which took the NBA to great heights under him as well as getting him notable leadership awards.

Under his tenure, the NBA became a popular sport which was a huge contribution to David Stern net worth when he was alive.

David stern net worth was $135 million As of the time of his death. In January 2020, David died of a brain hemorrhage which he suffered months before. He will be forever remembered for his impact on the NBA.

What are your thoughts on David Stern’s net worth? Let’s get to know them in the comment section below.

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