24-05-2025
Shaq Owned 155 Five Guys But Had No Clue How To Run Them — So He Turned To A McDonald's Manager Who Hooked Him Up During His NBA Days Into A Partner
Shaq Owned 155 Five Guys But Had No Clue How To Run Them — So He Turned To A McDonald's Manager Who Hooked Him Up During His NBA Days Into A Partner
Imagine being offered a stake in a booming burger chain and saying yes before you even knew what it was. That's exactly what happened to Shaquille O'Neal.
In a clip shared to Instagram in November by entrepreneur Andrew Cordle during the Aspire Tour, Shaq recounted the unexpected moment that launched him into the burger business.
"One day a guy came up to me and said, 'Hey man, I'm starting this thing called Five Guys,'" Shaq recalled. "I was like, 'What's Five Guys?' He's like, 'Burgers. I wanna offer you equity in the company, and I wanna give you franchises.' So I say yes, but now I'm like, I don't know sh*t about burgers... What do I do?"
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Shaq didn't just need a manager — he needed someone who actually knew the fast food game. So he looked to someone who'd already earned his trust during his NBA days in Orlando: a local McDonald's manager who had always treated him well.
"When I was playing here in Orlando, there was a guy at the McDonald's. He was the manager, and he always took care of me," Shaq said. "Didn't really have the cash to branch out. So I said okay, I already got the plan. I'm gonna take him, I will make him a partner, he's gonna run it."
Not just a thank-you, but a full-on business partnership. And it worked. Shaq said, "We're going to keep it, sell it, or whatever. And it worked out for me. So I think I had 155 Five Guys and he ran it."
Eventually, someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse. "Met a guy one day who wanted to take it off my hands. He showed me the number and I looked at it and was like, you can have it all," Shaq laughed. "You can have the burger, the fries, the lettuce, the shakes."
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What started as a spur-of-the-moment yes turned into a 155-location empire — and all because, as Shaq put it, "I get a lot of opportunities just by being a nice guy."
And being a nice guy has paid off — literally. Today, Shaq's estimated net worth is around $500 million, and his business portfolio is stacked with everything from Krispy Kreme and Papa John's to car washes and fitness centers.
But Shaq's brand isn't just about owning franchises — it's about backing brands that connect with everyday people. His strategy? Invest in businesses that change lives. He once said he took that cue from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He looks for companies that offer real value to real people — and that's helped turn him from an NBA legend into a franchise juggernaut.
Shaq may not have known much about burgers, but he's mastered the business of betting on people.
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This article Shaq Owned 155 Five Guys But Had No Clue How To Run Them — So He Turned To A McDonald's Manager Who Hooked Him Up During His NBA Days Into A Partner originally appeared on
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