However, that is just the beginning of the story. While sports betting was not widely accepted during his playing career from 1984 to 1997 and then from 2000 to 2006, people could count on Lemieux to deliver and could even put their money where their mouths were with an online casino.
Lemieux, who was famously known as “super Mario” and “Le Magnifique” – which translates to The Magnificent One – was selected to the All-Star game nine times and won the Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player) three times.
His life and career did not stop once he hung up the skates, though. He then became the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, for which he had a historic career. Lemieux has a net worth of $200 million.
How Lemieux Made His Money
Most athletes are able to find endorsement deals, particularly those who are at the top of their careers. Nike signed Lemieux for $500,000 when he returned to the NHL in 2000 after a brief retirement. After his playing days were over, he found a unique way to buy a stake in the team.
He was owed $32.5 million and converted $20 million of that into ownership equity. He partnered with Rob Burkle and John Surma, who later bought the team for $107 million. Two decades later and the valuation for the Penguins is estimated to be between $600 million and $750 million. That would give Lemieux $187.5 million.
Lemieux also owns a mansion in Quebec worth $22 million, which he was still trying to sell, according to an article from 2018. The mansion features 17,000 square feet of living space, 50 rooms and is located on 5.25 acres of property.
Charitable Spirit
When Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 1993, he created the Mario Lemieux Foundation to raise money to help fund medical research projects and support other organizations, such as the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
He founded Athletes for Hope in 2007, among several other popular athletes. The organization helps professional athletes get involved with charitable causes and inspires people who are not athletes to volunteer and support the community.
In addition to his own cancer battle, Lemieux’s son, Austin, was born prematurely in 1996 and spent 71 days in the hospital afterward. He started “Austin’s Playroom Project,” which builds playrooms across hospitals in the United States for patients and their siblings a place to play in a place where nobody wants children to spend a significant amount of time.
Lemieux’s Legacy
Lemieux was an incredible player and holds several National Hockey League records:
- Shorthanded goals in a season – 13 in 1988-89
- Most power-play points in a single season – 80
- Highest empty net goal game ratio – 1 in every 27.7 games
- Highest empty net goal average – 5% (among players with 400 or more career goals)
- Highest career goals per game average in the playoffs – .710
- Most points in a single All-Star game – 6
Lemieux is also the only player in NHL history to score five goals in five different ways in one game with an even-strength goal, a power-play goal, a penalty shot, an empty net, and a shorthanded goal.
He also shares a record with 13 other players to score four goals in a single period. Lemieux is one of two players to score 10 or more shorthanded goals in two different seasons, along with the great Wayne Gretzky.
On the ice, he won two Stanley Cup titles, and off the ice added three more as an owner. Back on the ice, he won a bronze medal at the 1983 World Junior Championships, silver at the 1985 World Championships, gold at the 1987 Canada Cup, 2002 Olympic Games, and the 2004 World Cup.
He certainly lived up to the billing of the No. 1 overall pick in 1984 and has carried that impact forward after his career. Not a bad life after initially signing his rookie contract for $600,000 with a $150,000 signing bonus.
