Floyd Mayweather Pairs With CRE Investment Company To Nab Celebrity Investments

Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather has partnered with CGI Merchant Group to launch platform investment targeted mainly at athletes and celebrities.

CGI plans on funneling $250M into commercial real estate assets through this platform, including into its own hospitality fund and other investment vehicles, with a focus on asset classes like hotels, offices and private credit. A company release states it is partnering with Mayweather due to his record of businesses investments.

“I am blessed to have made a lot of money as a professional athlete, which I have used to create generational wealth," Mayweather said in a release. "I am inspired to work with CGI and take these experiences to empower other athletes to do the same through investing in commercial real estate.”

CGI says Mayweather is expanding his real estate investment portfolio, which includes CRE assets.

“Over the years, Mayweather’s savvy investment decisions have made him a notable figure in business fueled by the desire to create a platform of financial independence for the people and communities around him, this desire is directly aligned with my own vision for CGI to be a vehicle for this type of change,” CGI CEO Raoul Thomas said in a release.

Mayweather is considered one of the wealthiest athletes in the world and rakes in millions in celebrity matches and endorsements. But he has been a controversial figure due to his history of domestic violence. He previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery domestic violence, and he has been accused of or charged with domestic violence several times over 20 years. 

He is far from the first professional athlete to jump into commercial real estate investment, however. CRE has become a lucrative field for former athletes, who might be past their prime playing days but have the capability of attracting investor capital, especially among high net worth individuals.

Former Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith and former Houston Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon are among the best-known athletes-turned-real estate investors. The pandemic only accelerated the trend, with early lockdowns and cancellations forcing some, especially lesser-known athletes, to seek new revenue streams.