Junior Bridgeman turned a $350,000 NBA salary into a $600 million empire built on fast food and Coca-Cola
Billionaires Africa | 12.06.2026 00:06
The man who would become one of the wealthiest former athletes in the world spent his summers working the drive-through window at a Wendy's in Milwaukee. Not as an owner. Not as an investor. As a cashier, learning orders, handling complaints, watching how the kitchen timed its tickets during the lunch rush. This was the late 1970s. Ulysses Lee Bridgeman Jr. was still an active NBA player, still suiting up for the Milwaukee Bucks, still averaging respectable numbers off the bench. He did not need the money. He needed the knowledge.
