Earleatha Kelly Johnson was born on 14 August 1959, in Huntsville, Alabama USA, and is a businesswoman and philanthropist, but perhaps best known publicly as the wife of National Basketball Association (NBA) legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson. She is also an active voice for HIV awareness, and all of her endeavors have helped put her net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Cookie Johnson? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $50 million, mostly earned through success in her various business endeavors. She’s also earned a significant amount of money through her association with Magic Johnson, as the couple has worked on several successful projects and all of these have helped ensure the position of her wealth.
Cookie Johnson Net Worth $50 million
Cookie attended Michigan State University and graduated with a degree in Textiles and Retailing. After finishing her studies, she went on to work in the retail industry and then decided to move to Los Angeles. She worked at a sportswear company, and later met Magic Johnson. When she was two months pregnant, her husband was diagnosed with HIV and the couple decided to actively campaign on HIV awareness. Their announcement proved to be controversial as it essentially meant that Magic was cheating on his wife and unintentionally exposed her to the virus. It may have also potentially affected their unborn child, yet their marriage got even stronger.
They supported various HIV causes that helped prevent or make people aware of the disease. They also started their own charity entitled the Magic Johnson Foundation which aims to help HIV victims. The foundation also aims to conduct more research on the disease and help spread information about the virus. Through their efforts, Magic has an almost undetectable trace of HIV though he is not yet fully cured of it. They regularly appear on television either to promote business or do Public Service Announcements (PSA).
Aside from her work in the foundation, Cookie designs jeans called CJ by Cookie Johnson and a lot of her designs are showcased at luxury department stores such as at Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus. The project was a collaboration between her and Michael Glasser who’s best known for Citizens of Humanity. The jeans were also promoted by Oprah Winfrey who stated that they were her favorite jeans. The jeans were aimed at full-figure women and have various cuts in style. The designer versions are valued at around $145 to $198, and the initial release found a lot of stores sold out. However, it was reported that after six years, the production of the jeans stopped, though there has not been any official confirmation.
For her personal life it is known that Cookie’s name came from the show “77 Sunset Strip” which had a character named Kookie. She has been married to Magic Johnson for more than 25 years and they have a son. They also have an adopted daughter and Magic has a son from a previous marriage. Aside from these, it is known that she tried modelling when she was younger, but stopped after realizing that she was not successful at it.
