Yao Ming already has his own restaurants, and is shareholder of a music website and a navigation technology company. However, the most intriguing investment is when he purchased the Shanghai Sharks Basketball Club in July 2009.

The club is where Yao comes from, and where he led the team to its only CBA title. The club plunged after Yao's departure in 2002, and had lost 96 million yuan before Yao came to the rescue in July 2009, when he bought all the club's stock shares. There is a chance that Yao will once again lead the battered club back to CBA's top- only this time as its boss.