‘I want to be a billionaire’: NBA star Russell Westbrook is shooting for a $1B net worth — and he isn’t waiting for retirement to start building. What you can learn from his blueprint

“I want to be a billionaire,” Westbrook said in the interview, hoping a portfolio of assets will triple his current net worth of $375 million. “In the business realm, that is a pinnacle that people where I come from don’t make it to," he said. The only two other basketball players that have reached a 10-figure net worth are LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

Through his investment firm Russell Westbrook Enterprises, Westbrook holds stakes in diverse businesses such as Pizzana restaurant, CenterWell home healthcare, HealthHouse fitness studios, and RW Digital, a minority-focused digital ads company. At the time of the interview he said he was exploring investments in an auto parts supplier.

The lack of glitz and glamor is the common theme across his vast portfolio. “It’s not a sexy business by any means, but it’s a very lucrative business that grows exponentially,” said the former NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). “It clicked for me in my brain. It’s like, non-sexy is sexy for me.”

The underlying theory is that these unglamorous businesses are not attracting media attention and investment, which potentially makes them cheap and undervalued.

A similar "unsexy" blueprint could help you build wealth too. Here are some of the top lucrative, but boring industries that should be on your radar.

Beverages

Warren Buffett’s decades-long commitment to Coca Cola highlights the value of a robust brand in the food and beverages sector. Coca Cola is the dominant brand in the soft drinks sector, while Pepsi has been its closest rival for much of its history.

However, after a recent boost in marketing efforts Dr. Pepper, which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), has managed to tie with Pepsi as the second-most popular carbonated soft drink brand in America, according to Beverage Digest sales volume data. If it can hold onto this position, investors could see handsome returns.

For now, Keurig Dr.Pepper stock (KDP) has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24 and offers a 2.45% dividend yield.

Equipment leasing

You might not expect forklift and air compressor rentals to be lucrative, but United Rentals proves otherwise. With a current market capitalization of over $54 billion, the world’s largest equipment leasing company registered $3.7 billion in total revenue and adjusted EPS of $10.70 in its most recent quarterly report. For the full year of 2024, the company expects revenue of at least $15.05 billion and free cash flow of at least $2.05 billion.

The stock is up 552% over the past five years.