RICH Paul has become one of the most powerful figures in the NBA on the back of being in the right place at the right time.

The superagent was selling vintage sports jerseys from the trunk of his car when he got chatting to then high school basketball phenom LeBron James at Akron-Canton Airport in 2002.

10

Rich Paul has risen to become one of the most powerful agents in global sportsCredit: Getty

10

Paul and LeBron James have had much to celebrate togetherCredit: Getty

10

Paul and Adele have forged an A-list relationshipCredit: EPA
LeBron, then 17, was impressed with a vintage Warren Moon-emblazened Houston Oilers jersey the 21-year-old Paul was wearing.

It was a conversation that would completely change the life of Paul, who had a challenging childhood and was a college dropout.

After securing a role at Creative Artists Agency thanks to LeBron’s help, Paul went on to found Klutch Sports Group, which now represents some of the biggest athletes across pro sports including the NBA, NFL and WNBA.

His client list is awe-inspiring, ranging from LeBron, Anthony Davis, Zach LaVine, Tristan Thompson, Draymond Green, and many more.

This offseason alone, he secured over $600million worth of contracts for his clients.

Such has been Paul’s astronomical rise that he has become the co-head of sports at United Talent Agency, where he serves on the board of directors.

Paul is reportedly worth $120million in his own right and has forged an A-list relationship with superstar singer Adele, whom he is poised to marry.

Here is a look at Paul’s incredible rise from growing up with a mother with drug addiction to becoming one of the most powerful agents in global sports.

Unstable upbringing in Cleveland

Paul grew up amid humble beginnings in Cleveland, with his parents divorcing and his mother Peaches battling a drug addiction for much of her life.

For a time, he lived with his siblings above his father, Rich Sr.’s corner store R&J Confectionery, which was located in a rough neighborhood full of gun violence.

10

Paul was forced to overcome many struggles in his childhoodCredit: Getty
From the age of 10, he went to live with his grandmother and a great uncle, in a house several blocks away.

“I was never really angry, but I was definitely protective, and I was definitely sad in a lot of ways,” he told the New Yorker of his mother’s struggles.

“Because, as a kid, you see other kids and their experience with their parents, and you want the same.”

In ninth grade, Paul was sent by his father to the private Benedictine High School, which was Roman Catholic and predominantly white.

After his ticking off from his father to improve his grades, Paul secured a place at the University of Akron.

But in 1999 he transferred to Cleveland State to be closer to his father, who had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer.

His father died a few months later, and Paul dropped out of university.

“He was always telling me my education was important,” Paul said.

“I always wanted to work. But I still probably would have finished school if my father was alive.

“I never wanted to let him down.”

Unbreakable bond with LeBron

Paul had a sharp business mind and he soon entered the sports memorabilia industry after being tutored by Andy Hyman, who owned the Distant Replays store in Atlanta.

Paul would buy jerseys from Distant Replays and sell them out of his trunk in Cleveland.

10

LeBron and Paul have forged a formidable friendship and business partnershipCredit: Getty

10

LeBron and Paul enjoy a joke alongside friend Randy MimsCredit: Getty
It was complete fate that he struck up a conversation at Akron-Canton Airport with LeBron, who was on his way to Atlanta with friends for the Final Four in 2002.

Paul directed LeBron to Distant Replays and told him to drop his name.

A few days later, Paul was home on his couch when he was informed that LeBron was in the store, buying a 1987–88 Magic Johnson authentic jersey.

“It was fate. I could have missed the plane. I could have taken an earlier flight,” Paul said.

“I could have not worn the jersey. I could have been having a bad day and not spoken to him.”

Paul and LeBron soon struck up a friendship and over time he joined the NBA star’s inner circle alongside best friends Maverick Carter and Randy Mims.

Then in the summer of 2003, after the Cleveland Cavaliers picked James with the No. 1 pick, he started paying Paul a salary of $48,000 to be his personal assistant.

Paul quickly became involved in the business of basketball when he formed LRMR Marketing alongside LeBron, Carter, and Mims in 2006.

Seeking to expand his career, he joined CAA in 2008 under the tutelage of LeBron’s agent Leon Rose and quickly gained some clients of his own, including Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Tristan Thompson, and Eric Bledsoe, among others.

Four years later, the NBA landscape was fundamentally rocked when Paul went on his own to found Klutch Sports, with LeBron as his star client.

“I have always felt that he had a purpose, and that’s why I kept him around,” LeBron told the New Yorker.

“I knew he was going to be something more than even what he thought he could possibly be at the time.

“It was just a feeling I had.”

Expanding business empire

Over the past 10 years, Klutch Sports has grown to become one of the most powerful agencies in major professional sports.

During the NBA offseason, Paul flexed his financial muscle to secure over $600million worth of contracts for his clients.

10

Paul alongside LeBron, Anthony Davis and Ben Simmons, a former clientCredit: Getty

10

Paul and Davis attend a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 2019Credit: Getty
This included major deals for the Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green ($100million), Portland Trailblazer wing Jerami Grant ($160million), and Houston’s Fred VanVleet ($130million).

These deals were in addition to recents deals for Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson ($55million) and Atlanta Hawks star Dejounte Murray ($120million).

According to reports, Paul makes a four percent commission on every contract he negotiates.

After the first day of NBA free agency, LeBron took to Twitter to fire back at naysayers who doubted his longtime friend.

“And y’all still wanna question is Rich Paul is the HIM,” he said.

“It says a lot about you if you not feeling us. I told him less is more. It’s plenty of us.”

Such is Paul’s influence that he brokered peace with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to secure LeBron’s return in 2014.

He then secured a series of two-year deals for LeBron that maximized James’s value and flexibility.

“Everyone just wants to say, ‘Oh, this guy’s LeBron’s friend and he’s used that’,” Green noted.

“No one talks about that extra $52million or whatever number LeBron made by doing the deals that way.”

In 2019, Klutch Sports secured “significant investment” from UTA, with Paul becoming the agency’s head of sport.

Klutch also expanded to launch a football division and earlier this year the company acquired Elite Athlete Management, which represents around 40 NFL players including Odell Beckham Jr. In May,

Paul disclosed in May that Klutch Sports has negotiated more than $2billion in deals to date.

A-list relationship with Adele

As Paul’s career has grown, so has his fame even leading to a shoe deal with New Balance, a first for a sports agent.

In 2021, Paul began dating British music sensation Adele and the pair went public when they sat together at an NBA game.

10

Paul and Adele attend the Grammy Awards in FebruaryCredit: Getty

10

They are often seen sitting together at NBA gamesCredit: Getty
After weeks of rumors, Adele and Rich Paul make their relationship Instagram-official in September that year.

Soon afterwards Adele spoke about their bond for the first time in a series of interviews.

“Rich just incredibly arrived,” she said.

“I don’t feel anxious or nervous or frazzled. It’s quite the opposite. It’s wild.”

They quickly became an A-list couple and in February, Adele sparked engagement rumors when she was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her ring finger at the BRIT Awards.

The couple have yet to announce wedding plans.

Paul has three children from a prior relationship but he recently hinted that he is open to the possibility of having more children with Adele.

Last year, Paul released his memoir which is fittingly entitled Lucky Me.

He told GQ of the title: “I was lucky as it pertains to not dying before I was 21, or having my freedom taken away.

“I was able to experience different things, which a lot of my friends didn’t. Right?

“And then in addition to that, I was able to be successful.”