NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has a business empire worth $400m, according to The Daily Mail.

Shaq is obviously most famous for being regarded as arguably the best Basketball center of all time, but away from the court he's built up an esteemed portfolio that continues to bring in the cash. 

The 48-year-old has been quick to emphasise the importance of his step-father in forcing him to be stringent with his NBA earnings, as well as the fact he's gone out of his way to learn more about business. 

O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University, completed a degree in General Studies in 2000 and then a masters in Business Administration through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In 2012, he finished a doctorate at Barry University in Florida. 

And that education, as well as some knowledge gleaned from Amazon owner Jeff Besoz - who told him to invest in things that will change people's lives - has provided the platform for O'Neal to become a successful entrepreneur. 

Incredibly, Shaq was one of the early investors in Google after overhearing two men talk about search engines back in 1999 and also took a stake in Apple, the technology giants, while he was still playing Basketball. 

Since then, O'Neal's other investments have included his own branded soft drinks - Shaq Soda and Shaq Fu Punch - as well as a huge series of food stores and franchises. 

O'Neal is registered as part-owner on 155 different chains of Five Guys and has stakes in 17 Auntie Anne pretzel shops.

He also owns a branch of Krispy Kremes after becoming an ambassador for the doughnut giants in 2016 and is on the executive board for Papa Johns, having played a key role in the marketing campaigns of both companies. 

O'Neal is even involved with Canal Cruiseliners, while he owns 150 car washes, 40 gyms, a night club and chicken shop. He's furthermore co-owner of a radio station with Northampton Town chairman Kelvin Thomas. 

It's an incredibly vast portfolio that shows O'Neal's talents certainly aren't limited to Basketball or even the sporting arena. He's an incredibly shrewd businessman as well and appears to be building quite the empire.