“That’s the pinnacle, that’s the end-all or be-all right there,” Carmelo Anthony told Fortune. Even though he was a top recruit at Syracuse University and a top-three draft pick before an All-Star career studded with Olympic Gold medals (three, to be exact) and a top 10 spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, Anthony insisted he never expected Hall of Fame status. “No, not at all. Not at all. I never, never thought that.” He said reaching the Hall of Fame is “something that’s just so far-fetched,” and something that he considered “damn near impossible to accomplish.” He emphasized that he prizes humility and has carried this over into his business career.
The basketball icon was sitting down with Fortune for a wide-ranging interview, coinciding with The City of Baltimore‘s historic Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Central location hosting a “House of Melo” exhibit to celebrate the 10-time NBA All-Star, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
D. Watkins, co-author of Anthony’s memoir, said Carmelo was “very adamant about anchoring the experience at the Pratt, because it’s a free library. No tickets. No reservations required.” He said it was important to Anthony that the exhibit be at a space where everyone is welcome and can be comfortable. Their book together, Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised, is a New York Times bestselling author, detailing the stories of Anthony’s upbringing and the odds he overcame to make it to where he is today.
The same humble, aspirational spirit that fueled Anthony’s long pursuit of Hall-of-Fame status underpins the exhibit. “This isn’t just an exhibit—this is my story,” Anthony said. “I want people to feel inspired to dream big and know it’s possible.” Social justice and equality continue to serve as the throughline for Anthony’s endeavors, including his work as co-founder of The Social Change Fund, which was created in response to the continued racial injustice across our country and aims to support critical and timely issues impacting the Black community.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott praised Anthony for his humility and giving back to his community. “No matter what higher heights he reaches, he always stays grounded in his values and committed to supporting the next generation—especially young people following his footsteps in Baltimore.”
Anthony spoke to Fortune about the evolution of athlete empowerment, his business philosophy, and the financial lessons he hopes to pass to the next generation of sports stars. Anthony, who recently achieved one of basketball’s highest honors with his induction into the Hall of Fame, described the experience as the “ultimate feeling.”
From the court to the boardroom
While Anthony was hesitant to discuss particulars of his net worth or single out his best investments among several ongoing projects, he did reveal that his stake in Lyft stood out as particularly successful. Over a 15-year span, Anthony explained, he became deeply engaged with the business of investing, approaching it first as a student, learning the terminology, structures, and market realities before putting significant capital at risk.
“It was something that we really sat down and we whiteboarded it out, and we talked about it, and we had multiple meetings, just trying to figure it out.” Most importantly, he said, he started to learn the industry of tech investing through learning fundamentals of the business, the language and having various meetings and conversations. “I really wanted to just be a student at first, before I just go out there and invest some money.”
He credited longtime friend and partner Stuart Goldfarb, a former Bertelsmann Direct North America CEO, for helping him find his footing in technology and investment, noting the rarity of athletes entering the sector with seriousness at the time. Their New York-based venture capital firm, Melo7 Tech Partners, focuses on investing in seed, early-stage, and later-stage technology companies, primarily in the digital media and consumer internet sectors, with Lyft, DraftKings, and SeatGeek among their diversified portfolio of investments. Together, Anthony said, he and Goldfarb began by mapping out strategies to identify sustainable, scalable ventures where Anthony could have a legitimate impact and drive real growth. “You know, every deal is not a good deal at the end of the day.” In 2023, they expanded their focus to partner with Isos Capital Management on the launch of Isos7 Sports Investments, a new sports-focused fund.
Anthony candidly spoke about deals that got away—including early opportunities in technology stocks and cryptocurrencies—where hesitation led to missed fortunes. He recalled passing on Google, for instance, describing his mentality as “let’s just sit it out. Let’s just wait and see what happens with that. And it actually started booming.” He said he learned a lesson: “I’m going to start listening to what’s going with my gut.”
More recently, he admitted to a similar hesitancy around cryptocurrency. “Years ago, I’m like, I want to try this. I want to get into it. And everybody’s like, ‘Man, don’t mess with that crypto, leave it alone, don’t mess with it.”‘ He said “something about this new wave of currency” really appealed to him, but it was just hard to convince people “who didn’t really understand that whole crypto world and what it was doing, and where it was going.”
“That’s another one I should have went with my gut on,” he admitted, while clarifying that he did have a chance to get in on it a bit later on. “I was there at the beginning … and just to see where it was at then and where it’s at now is unbelievable.” (To Anthony’s point that every deal is not a good deal necessarily, crypto has been hit with a $1 trillion selloff in 2025, with Bitcoin in freefall from an all-time high of $126,000 in October into the $80,000 range.)
Despite quick turnaround concerns in startup investing, Anthony said his focus was always on the people behind the companies, seeking passionate founders he could truly believe in. He also said that, while he’s never received overtly bad business advice, the best lessons often came from observing the poor decision-making of others—a philosophy that’s kept him both cautious and innovative.
Athletes’ voices and the power of NIL
Anthony articulated his evolving perspective on the growing power of athletes to control their own narratives. Calling out the “the tape [that’s] been put over our mouths as athletes for so long.” He said he was happy to see a new era emerging with new regulations around name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, empowering young athletes to profit and speak out. Unlike in Anthony’s Syracuse days, college athletes can make huge amounts by monetizing their NIL rights before they go pro, as seen with women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark, who generated over $3 million from NIL rights while she was still at the University of Iowa. “Now that we’re in this powerful position that we’re in, where we’re taking back control,” Anthony told Fortune, “we’ve taken control of our individualism, in a sense.”
Still, Anthony was ambivalent about whether he’d wish to have the same NIL rights for himself when he was in college over 20 years ago. Saying that he thinks “it’s tough” to be a college athlete with modern pressures, he added, “No, I don’t think I would have wanted to deal with the stresses of [NIL rights]. You know, worrying about, when is my check coming in? And the check didn’t clear?”
Anthony said he wasn’t sure if college was quite the same for young athletes today. “Now, I don’t think these kids really enjoy that moment,” he said, alluding to the prevalence of social media and how a kind of purity has been lost. “It’s a lot to deal with.” Anthony added that, with his son Kiyan starting his freshman year at Syracuse, that’s his main advice: “That’s the number one thing I relate to him. Enjoy college.” He said NIL rights may be a factor, “it is what it is,” but he doesn’t want Kiyan to worry too much but to “enjoy this moment,” because “these memories last forever.”
Perhaps most passionately, Anthony offered guidance for young athletes entering the professional ranks, including his own son, who is on his way to collegiate and potentially pro basketball. “You’re never too young to understand what’s going on,” Anthony advised, emphasizing the importance of paying attention not just to social media or sports, but to financial literacy and the details of one’s own contracts and investments. He encouraged taking ownership early, being actively involved in decisions, and seeking out knowledge independently.
Asked about what he’d learned about business from his days interacting with NBA owners, Anthony was too gracious to name anyone in particular, but said that owners who “are not afraid to listen” and “not afraid to change their perspective” were particularly impressive to him. “Obviously, they’ve [already] got the best advice,” he said. “If they’re billionaires, they did something right. Above all, he said he admires leaders who understand the importance of knowing when to “step in and when to step out,” respecting the intricate relationships between athletes, teams, and their broader communities.
