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Topics: Sport, Basketball, US News, Celebrity, Money
Jake Massey
Topics: Sport, Basketball, US News, Celebrity, Money
NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has responded to reports he keeps his money in 50 different bank accounts.
The Milwaukee Bucks player - who originally hails from Greece - moved to the US when he was 18 and was unsure how best to look after his money.
Last year, it was reported that he had set up 50 different bank accounts to hold his cash, but the 'Greek Freak' - nicknamed after his nationality and athleticism - has explained that this was somewhat of an exaggeration.
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"It's not totally true, I can give you the story," the 28-year-old told Bloomberg.
"When I came into the United States I was 18 years old, I had to basically teach myself everything.
"I had to rent a place, I had to get a driving licence, I had to open a bank account.
"I had no money growing up, so I asked them, 'Is my money safe?' They said, 'Up to $250,000 is safe, that’s all we can guarantee you.'
"I said, 'I have way more than $250,000,' so I got to open multiple bank accounts, so I opened five, six, seven banks."
Man, must be such a ballache having to open half a dozen bank accounts 'cause you have way more than $250,000.
Don't worry about Giannis though, 'cause he's since figured out smarter ways of looking after his stacks of cash.
He continued: "So it's not quite true - I didn't have 50, but I had quite a lot. But there's way smarter ways to do it, to keep your money safe.
"But definitely from the year that Covid happened, 2020, it gave me a lot of time to think and I had meetings with a lot of people and they've allowed me to grow my portfolio in a smart way."
Marc Lasry - the billionaire co-founder of Avenue Capital Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks - said last year that he explained to Antetokounmpo why keeping his money in loads of different banks wasn't the answer.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Wealth Summit last April, Lasry said: "I spend a lot of time with them [the Bucks players] explaining where they should invest.
"I'm like, 'Giannis, you can't be having accounts at 50 different banks. Let me tell you something, if JPMorgan goes under, your little dinky banks are going to go under too. Let me explain what you should buy, you should buy U.S. Treasuries, you should buy this...'"