Who is Rich Paul? The sports agent reportedly engaged to Adele

Just this weekend Adele sent fans into a frenzy by sporting a huge diamond ring on her wedding finger during her Las Vegas show. The mega-pop star has been vocal about her relationship with Rich Paul before, but with new rumors flying about the alleged engagement, many are asking, who exactly is Rich Paul?

Born in Ohio, Cleveland, Paul began his career by selling vintage basketball jerseys from his car. It was only by chance that he met LeBron James in 2002 at an airport, which led him to his big career break.

How Rich Paul got his big break

According to The Standard, LeBron noticed Paul wearing a Houston Oilers jersey, which caught his attention. Paul went on to sell the famous basketball player a Magic Johnson jersey, and the two continued to maintain a strong work relationship over the years.

“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,” Paul told GQ about the initial meeting

“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.”

James ended up liking Paul’s work so much that he drafted him to work under his agent at the time, 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,” Paul added.

From there, Paul continued to grow his clientele and eventually founded his own agency, Klutch Sports Group in 2012. One of his first clients was LeBron James.

Paul went on to negotiate over $1 billion dollars worth of deals and now has a net worth of $120 million, which secured him a spot on the top 10 most powerful people Forbes list in 2020.

Paul will also have a memoir released later this year by Jay Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation.

How did Rich Paul and Adele meet?

According to Vogue, the pop star and sports agent met on the dance floor of a mutual friend’s party. Adele tells Vogue that he was “always there, I just didn’t see him.” The couple ended up reconnecting in the spring of 2021.

The first time they were officially spotted together as a couple was courtside at an NBA Finals game last July. Adele later told People Magazine that she didn’t intend to officially announce their relationship.

“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,” The ‘Easy on Me’ singer said.

Despite the evidence that the two were seeing each other, the pair didn’t officially confirm their relationship until September 2021. Adele confirmed the relationship by posting a photo set on Instagram featuring a black and white photobooth shot of them together.