Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna have died in a terrible helicopter accident which took the lives of 7 other individuals.
On January 26, 2020, the world was left speechless after hearing that 41 year old basketball superstar Kobe Bryant had passed away in a helicopter crash with his 13 year old daughter, Gianna, fondly known as Gigi. He left behind his wife Vanessa Bryant and their three other daughters.
The fatal crash also took the lives of: Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Kobe’s sports career was spectacular and highly respected by fans and peers. He entered the NBA after high school at the age of 17 where he played for 20 fruitful, powerful and inspiring years. He stayed with the LA Lakers the entire time, never switching teams. During his basketball career, Kobe - aka Black Mamba - was a true champ, decorated and celebrated internationally. He was a two-time Olympic gold medallist, named NBA’s Most Valuable Player, was a two-time NBA finals MVP, 15 time all-NBA player and an 18 time NBA all-star. He was also the third highest scoring player!
Throughout his impressive career, this talented athlete earned millions of dollars from his NBA salary. On top of that, Kobe has huge endorsement deals with brands like Adidas, Nike, Nintendo, McDonalds, Call Of Duty, and Hublot.
Upon retiring from the NBA, Kobe knew he wanted to foster and forge a legacy that was more than basketball. He put his millions to work and founded two investment companies: Kobe Inc. and Bryant Stibel (co founded by Jeff Stibel). As a businessman Kobe had made some smart moves. Bryant Stibel is a venture capitalist firm that specialises in technology, data and media, while Kobe Inc. is his personal investment portfolio where he had bought 6 million dollars worth of shares from Body Armor which was later purchased by Coca Cola for 200 million dollars. Through Bryant Stibel, they have invested and parted with Dell, Alibaba, Fortnite, Klarna, The Honest Company to name a few.
Read More: The Oscars 2020: Quick Movie Reviews of All the Best Picture Nominees This Year