Congrats to our longtime family friend Junior Bridgeman on a terrific profile in Forbes. Junior and Doris have quietly supported an endless number of charities and education pursuits to improve our Louisville community. They’re the kindest people you’ll ever know.
The Forbes article is behind a paywall, but here is a bit of the content that explains Junior’s business path after he graduated from the University of Louisville in 1975.
“Following his retirement after 12 seasons — including 10 in Milwaukee (playing for the Bucks) — in which he never earned more than $350,000 as a player, Junior Bridgeman built a fast-food empire that included more than 500 Wendy’s, Chili’s and Pizza Hut franchises at its peak in 2015. Then, in 2016, Bridgeman sold most of his restaurants for an estimated $250 million and used the proceeds to become a Coca-Cola distributor with a territory spanning three states. Over the last eight years, Bridgeman has grown his bottling business’ revenue almost threefold to nearly $1 billion in 2023. Today, Forbes estimates that Bridgeman has a net worth of $1.4 billion.
“He’s now in rare air alongside Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James as the only NBA players with 10-figure fortunes.”