What Is Juanita Jordan's Net Worth?
Juanita Jordan, AKA Juanita Vanoy, is a former model who has a net worth of $200 million. Juanita Jordan is best known being the ex-wife of NBA star Michael Jordan. They were married from 1989 to 2006. They have three children: sons Jeffrey and Marcus and daughter Jasmine. They initially filed for divorce in 2002 but temporarily reconciled. They officially divorced in December 2006. We'll give much more detail on Juanita Jordan's divorce settlement in a dedicated section later in this article, but it is generally understood that she received $168 million worth of cash and assets. That's the same as around $260 million in today's dollars.
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Early Life
Juanita Vanoy was born on June 13, 1959, in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, by her father, John, and her mother, Dorothy. She has five siblings: Gwendolyn Hicks, Jacqueline Rogers, Rhonda Armstrong, Bernetta B. Vanoy, and Margaret Vanoy. Juanita attended Christian Fencer High School and later went on to American University.
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Personal Life and Fame
Juanita worked as a successful model and secretary for many years. She was working as a loan officer while also earning a degree when she met Michael Jordan at a Chicago Bennigan's restaurant in 1984. The two were introduced by a mutual friend. At the time, Michael was an NBA rookie heading into his second season with the Bulls. They met for a second time at a party a few weeks after they were introduced and instantly hit it off.
The pair began dating and became engaged in 1987 after Michael proposed to Juanita at Nick's Fish Market in Chicago. The two subsequently broke off the engagement, and it was almost a year before they began talking about marriage again. They eventually married on September 2, 1989, at 3:30 in the morning at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
At the time of their wedding, they already had their first child, 10-month-old Jeffrey. Michael initially did not believe that he was Jeffrey's father. Juanita had to go so far as to serve him with a legal paternity claim before Michael relented, and the couple reconciled.
Juanita and Michael went on to have three children, two sons and a daughter: Jeffrey Michael Jordan (born 1988), Marcus James Jordan (born 1990), and Jasmine Jordan (born 1992). Both sons would go on to play college basketball but did not pursue the NBA. Today, Jeffrey works for the Jordan Brand on the digital team. Marcus is the founder of a boutique store called the Trophy Room, but in recent years, he has earned headlines for dating Larsa Pippen. In addition to being 16 years older than Marcus, awkwardly, Larsa was married to Michael's Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen from 1997 to 2021. Jasmine worked for a time for the Charlotte Hornets (her dad previously owned the team). Today, she is an executive at Nike. Jasmine made Juanita and Michael grandparents in 2019 when she welcomed a son with her husband, NBA player Rakeem Christmas.
Juanita was famously pictured by Michael's side when he made his second NBA retirement announcement in 1998 after 13 seasons and six NBA titles:
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Divorce Settlement
Juanita filed for divorce in 2002. Michael Jordan's net worth at the time was a "mere" $400 million. She withdrew the petition a month later after the couple reconciled. In 2006, they jointly announced they were splitting for good. Legal filings would later reveal that Michael paid Juanita a divorce settlement worth $168 million.
The settlement included a mix of property and assets. Michael retained ownership of their lavish, custom-built 56,000-square-foot suburban Chicago home.
Years later, Michael would try to sell the home for $30 million. He eventually cut the price to $14 million but has still not found a buyer. Michael and Juanita set the record for the largest celebrity divorce settlement ever at the time, though it has since been eclipsed.
In 2014, Juanita sold the seven-acre Lake Shore Drive Penthouse she had received in the divorce settlement for $3.2 million.
Michael went on to marry Yvette Prieto in 2013. In February 2014, Yvette and Michael welcomed twin daughters, Victoria and Ysabel.
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Other Ventures
After the divorce, Juanita largely retreated from the public eye to focus on their children and philanthropy. She collects art, focusing on African American artists. She serves on the board of Reel Beauty Inc., a Chicago non-profit that mentors young girls. She is also the co-founder of the charity Michael and Juanita Endowment Fund.
Juanita Jordan was featured in the TV series "ESPN SportsCentury" in 2000 and "E! True Hollywood Story" in 2006.
