David Beckham is a business and sporting behemoth, but like anybody else, he too would be nervous if he lost his wallet.
While he was in Los Angeles, Beckham dropped his wallet while he was out in Beverly Hills. Fortunately for the former footballer and model, basketball legend and businessman Shaquille O’Neal was the one who found it.
O’Neal, a former LA Lakers star who towers over Beckham at a whopping 7-foot-1-inch, jokingly admitted he considered pocketing the cash that was inside it. That was until he realised who the wallet belonged to.
Beckham and O’Neal know each other well having crossed paths on multiple occasions when the footballer played for LA Galaxy. O’Neal re-told the story during an appearance on the Late Late Show, which James Corden was still presenting at the time.
While laughing, O’Neal said: “I was walking one day in Beverly Hills and I found a wallet. Usually when I find wallets, I just take all the money out and I just throw them, but this was a nice wallet.”
His mind was changed when he saw Beckham’s ID nestling inside of the wallet. A new idea came across the basketball legend’s mind.
O’Neal added: “First I played a joke. I was like, ‘I have your wallet, it’s going to cost you a million dollars to get it back.’
“But he knew it was me. [Beckham said] ‘Shaq, stop playing.’ I was like ‘Dave, I found your wallet’. The funny thing is he [Beckham] said, ‘There was some money in this wallet, you know what happened?’ And I was like, ‘Nope.'”
O’Neal retired from elite basketball in 2012, but has since become a hugely successful entrepreneur. The four-time NBA winner now boasts an enormous £368million net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
It’s understood he earned around £216m in salary over the course of his career and an extra £147m in endorsements. Meanwhile the Sunday Times Rich List claimed Beckham is now worth £500m, making him one of the wealthiest people in Britain.
The ex-England captain is currently keeping an eye on the Club World Cup, where his Major League Soccer side Inter Miami are playing. Inter, who he co-owns with Miami based businessmen Jose Mas and Jorge Mas, recently reached the last-16 of the competition in the United States.
They will next face Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 of the competition. Despite the fact they have Barcelona legends Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, the bookies will heavily favour the French side.
Inter secured their place in the next round by drawing 2-2 with Brazilian heavyweights Palmeiras. While Beckham’s team allowed a two-goal lead to slip through their fingers, it was still enough to see them progress into the next round.