Why He’s Interesting: Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul is considered one of the most powerful agents. When founding Klutch in 2012, he signed longtime friend LeBron James. Seven years later he became head of sports at the venerable United Talent Agency. His nearly 200-plus client roster includes Draymond Green, Jalen Hurts, Darius Garland and Tristan Thompson. He’s also chart-topping pop star Adele’s significant other.
Lucky Me: It’s the title of his memoir, which recounts his life up to 2016. He flips the perception of his tough upbringing in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood — one in which the absences of a single mother addicted to crack were balanced by the presence of a loving father — by presenting lessons he learned during that period as the building blocks of his success as an adult. “Any time you’re able to give someone direction where they can gain a perspective and have some type of progression, whether it’s minimal or maximum, I feel like that’s extremely important.”
Passion for Fashion: Paul’s love of fashion includes authentic sports jerseys. By 2001 he was selling them to athletes and celebrities. “I used to take my jerseys out of town with me, and I sold them to a lot of the guys that were in the NBA at the time, whether it was Antoine Walker or Juwan Howard … some other football players, too,” he recalls. It was a Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon jersey Paul was rocking at Akron-Canton Airport that caught LeBron James’ eye and prompted him to ask Paul about it: their fateful first meeting.
Remembering His Roots: One of Paul’s regrets is not buying the building at East 125th Street and Edmonton Avenue that housed his father’s R & J Confectionary store. “The most important address in [his] life,” where he spent so much time with his dad, became an empty lot. Paul hopes to someday build an updated duplicate of the former building. “If I was able to recreate that bright spot, that would mean a lot to me and my family.”
Meet Cleveland's Most Interesting People of 2024.
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