As the founder of Klutch Sports Group, which represents sporting stars LeBron James, Odell Beckham Jr. and Ben Simmons, Rich Paul was already household name in the US. Yet, over here, little was known about the superstar agent until he was linked with his now-wife Adele.
Last year, Paul released his memoir Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds via Jay Z’s publishing house, Roc Lit 101, which gave readers a deeper look into his life beyond his ultra-famous partner and lucrative business deals. It covers his childhood growing up in a deprived area of Cleveland, Ohio, with a drug addicted mother who would leave him alone at home for days on end, to the lessons his father taught him that helped elevate him to the upper echelons of Hollywood.
“I’m happy in all aspects of my life,” Paul, 41, told PEOPLE about his impressive journey. “I’ve always been somebody that never allowed things to get to me.”
At the time of Paul's memoir release, he also revealed that his partner (now wife) Adele, found it difficult to read. “It was very emotional. I think a lot of it probably hit home.” Of course, it’s no surprise that the Set Fire to the Rain singer was greatly moved by her husband's poignant memoir — especially as the pair were rumoured to have got hitched long before they revealed it to the public.
Throughout her Las Vegas residency, the superstar musician was dropping hints that she had married the CEO. First there was the huge diamond ring (granted, she’s been wearing it since last year’s Brit Awards), then she referred to herself as “not the greatest wife when it comes to football”. But eventually the rumours were quelled by gossip site Deux Moi, who reported that Adele was in fact engaged to beau Rich Paul. As per the “very reliable source” the couple — who started dating in September 2021 — were planning their wedding for this summer. Now, it seems they may have been correct.
The marriage was confirmed via audience members in attendance at a recent Alan Carr comedy show where Adele was in the crowd. "I was at Alan Carr's comedy show in LA tonight and Adele was in the audience," one attendee told Deux Moi, "Alan asked the crowd if anyone got married recently and Adele shouted 'I did.'"
As the marriage rumours are confirmed, we go inside the remarkable life of Adele's new husband, Rich Paul.
From selling sports jerseys out of his car to representing the world’s biggest sports stars
Born in Ohio, Cleveland, Paul began his career selling vintage basketball jerseys from his car boot. However, it was a chance meeting with LeBron James in 2002 at an airport, where the young hustler was rocking a Houston Oilers jersey that turned the basketball player’s head, which gave him his big break.
“That was the initial connection. And then the attraction was probably because I was fly. It takes a special kind of person to acknowledge somebody else’s fly,” explained Paul in an interview with GQ. “Fly could mean work, fly could mean dress, fly could mean knowledge and expertise. Him not being so into himself allowed him to see that flyness. That was the initial attraction.”
He went on to sell him a Magic Johnson jersey, and the two deepened their relationship over many years. So much so that James drafted him to work under his then-agent Leon Rose at Creative Artists Agency. “One thing people don’t realize is: It wasn’t like I woke up the next day and was LeBron’s agent. He observed. He watched me sacrifice. He watched me develop capabilities. He watched me fail, not get certain guys and things like that.”
Ever the entrepreneur, Paul stepped out on his own in 2012 and founded the agency Klutch Sports Group. He took James along with him, as well as his Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green, and Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls, to name a few. The cut-throat businessman has negotiated over $1 billion worth of deals and has a networth of $120 million, which earned him a spot on the top ten most powerful people Forbes list in 2020.
His meteroic rise through the sporting world has caught the attention of American rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z, who released Paul’s memoir via his entertainment company Roc Nation.
“Lucky Me is more than my story,” Paul explained in a press statement. “Lucky Me is the story of every young Black man who grew up like me. I want to use my story to uplift and inspire those who lived this and educate those who didn’t. I cannot tell you what it means to partner with my friend and mentor Jay Z on this project. Lucky Me was the name of the book before I even spoke with Jay because his music was my life’s soundtrack.”
Their dancefloor meet-cute and public debut
So how did one of the most successful sports agents end up with one the best selling female artists of our generation? Well, it all started seven years ago when the two met on the dance floor at a mutual friend’s party. “He was always there, I just didn’t see him,” she later told Vogue. It wasn’t until spring 2021, around the same time that her father passed, that the two reconnected.
The first time they were officially spotted together as a couple was courtside at the NBA finals last July. Despite sitting next to each other and having “their eyes on each other almost as much as they did on the game”, as per an eyewitness account on Entertainment Tonight, the musician didn’t intend to make their relationship status public.
“I didn’t mean to go public with it. I just wanted to go to the game. I just love being around him. I just love it. He was like, 'What are people going to say?' and I was like, 'That you signed me. As an athlete. You’re my agent,' and he was like, ‘Okay, cool’.”
It was ESPN’s Brian Windhorst who first confirmed the relationship on a late-night podcast called The Hoop Collective show, but by July 20 Page Six confirmed that Adele and Paul are “100 percent” dating to fans globally. As for the pair, they made it Instagram official on September 19 after the Rolling in the Deep singer posted a photo dump featuring a black and white photobooth shot of the two.
Inside their jet-setting life together
Last May the pair moved into a $58 million LA mansion that was the former home of actor Sylvester Stallone. The 18,587 square-foot home was initially listed for $110 million and features eight-bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a pool and 3.5 acres in an inclusive neighbourhood where Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson and Justin Bieber also reside.
Although the two are notoriously private, ââAdele opened up about the relationship during an intimate interview with Oprah Winfrey. “He’s hilarious. He’s very, very smart. It’s quite incredible watching him do what he does. And just the easiness of it. It’s been very smooth.” The singer also said that the relationship is the first time she "loved [herself] and been open to loving and being loved by someone else.”
The 35-year-old has also revealed on BBC Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs that she’d definitely like “a couple more kids” with Paul. At the moment, she shares one nine-year-old son Angelo with her ex-husband, Simon Konecki. “I would definitely love a couple more kids,” she continued. “It would be wonderful.”
In an interview with E! News, Paul opened up about balancing fatherhood and entrepreneurship when he was young, and how he wants to be "a more patient dad" if he has more kids. The 41-year-old doesn’t speak publicly about his kids (he has three) often, and many fans were quick to point out his comment came just after Adele said she wanted another baby during her BBC Radio 4 interview.
Considering her twice-cancelled Caesars Palace Las Vegas residency has been extended once more, until June 2024, the two might have to wait for a tad longer before they welcome any new babies. Nevertheless, with eight bedrooms the couple are well primed to welcome another baby or two over the coming years.
