"Profits we should have had": Shaquille O'Neal's car wash business once had $250,000 in profits missing

Shaquille O'Neal had the understanding to be a successful business mogul before his NBA career started. His first endorsement deal was with Classic Car. However, Shaq still had to learn the ropes of business. He wasn't aware of how taxes function, which nearly put him into deep trouble.

O'Neal made $1 million in his first endorsement with Classic Car. He spent most of that money on paying off his parents' debts, taking care of his family and buying them cars. It took him two days to exhaust most of that money. He wasn't aware of the tax deductions that came with the million-dollar earning and ended up owing the bank $90,000.

That led to Shaq hiring an accountant named Lester Knispel to handle his transactions. Knispel was as trustworthy as they came. He once flew out to Orlando to speak to O'Neal, freaking out because he calculated that a quarter million dollars were missing from a coin-operated car wash. Here's what O'Neal said about this incident in his book: "Shaq: Uncut":

"We were doing really well, making a lot of money, but one day Lester called me up and told me the numbers weren't matching up. The profits we should have had were not the same numbers that were being deposited in the bank.

"'Don't worry, Lester,' I told him, but he was freaking out about it. He even flew to Orlando to discuss it with me. He calculated we were missing almost a quarter million dollars."

As it turns out, Shaquille O'Neal knew where the money was. He was the one to spend it on a bunch of wooden barrels full of quarters. Here's what Shaq wrote in his book about this:

"It took me a while, but I finally came clean with him. I showed Lester my bedroom, where there were a whole bunch of wooden rain barrels—full of quarters. Lester said, 'Shaquille, what the hell is this? Is this the missing money?' 'Yes,' I admitted. 'Lester, I can't help it. I like seeing my money. Come here, run your fingers through all these quarters. It's awesome!'"

Shaquille O'Neal is wise with his business investments, but he also doesn't hesitate to spend it on things he likes, regardless of how much it costs.

Lester Knispel advised Shaquille O'Neal on his financial decisions

Shaquille O'Neal has created an empire worth $400 million, and it wouldn't have been possible without Lester Knispel's direction and guidance. Knispel was the first advisor the former Lakers star reached out to, who helped him, understand the nuances of business and how to handle the load of money he earned.

The NBA legend once shed light on Kispel's advice, recalling one of their meets at a bar, saying:

"[It] would be the same advice that a fellow gave me at a bar,” O’Neal said. “He had a piece of paper and said, ‘This is a hundred dollars,’ ripped it in half and said, ‘You save $50, you can play with the other $50. But the difference between rich and wealthy is, you rip the $50 in half, and with the $25, you can do whatever you want, but with that other $25, you save it’."

Shaquille O'Neal implied that for the rest of his life and he couldn't have done a better job of doing so, going on to earn over 50 brands and boasting nearly half a billion of net worth.