Zaza Pachulia retired from the NBA in 2019 after 16 seasons, two championships and about $60 million in career earnings.
Pachulia, 35, grew up in the nation of Georgia and says he never focused on his formal education. He turned pro before going to college and figured his on-court success would translate directly to his investing.
The former Golden State Warriors player invested in two restaurants after signing his first big contract. Both went out of business in less than two years. He took this as a wake-up call and decided he needed to learn how to be a better businessman and investor.
Since then, he has taken courses at Harvard Business School and other universities around the country to learn about business.
Most of Pachulia's investments are in his home country and focus on tourism and real estate. He recently partnered with the Georgian shoe company Crosty to help them with global distribution and bringing the brand to the U.S. market.
Pachulia says he plans to use retirement as an opportunity to focus on growing his portfolio.
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