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A handful of professional athletes and other high-profile figures have joined the SPAC boom, prompting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to caution investors about investing in special purpose acquisition companies associated with celebrities.

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Basketball Hall of Famer , Golden State Warriors player, tennis champion , and former pro baseball player are some of the notable professional athletes who have been involved in SPACs in some capacity. Former San Francisco 49ers player now an activist, also formed a SPAC focusing on social justice.

鈥淐elebrity involvement in a SPAC does not mean that the investment in a particular SPAC or SPACs generally is appropriate for all investors,鈥� the notice from the SEC, posted Wednesday, read. 鈥淐elebrities, like anyone else, can be lured into participating in a risky investment or may be better able to sustain the risk of loss. It is never a good idea to invest in a SPAC just because someone famous sponsors or invests in it or says it is a good investment.鈥�

SPACs are blank-check companies formed with the intent to acquire a private company and take it public. They gained popularity last year, with several notable companies going public through SPACs, including and .听

Last year, SPACs raised more than $83 billion in gross proceeds. This year, they鈥檝e raised more than $78.7 billion in gross proceeds, and we鈥檙e not even halfway through March.听

Some of the celebrities who are associated with SPACs aren鈥檛 necessarily new to the world of venture capital or investing in startups. Shaq鈥檚 invested in a number of companies, perhaps most notably 鈥檚 Series A in 1999. Both Curry and Williams are investors in connected fitness startup , and Williams also invests in companies through her venture capital firm

Notable Celebrity-Associated SPACs

Jaws Spitfire Acquisition Corp.

• Celebrity association: Serena Williams sits on the board.
• Other notable people: CEO

Slam Corp.

• Celebrity association: Alex Rodriguez is the CEO.
• Other notable people: Antara Capital founder Himanshu Gulati.

Dune Acquisition Corp.

• Celebrity association: Steph Curry is part of the SPAC team.
• Other notable people: co-founder of (with Steph Curry).

Bright Lights Acquisition Corp.

• Celebrity association: sits on the board of directors.
• Other notable people: CEO , Vice Chairman , and Celebrands co-managers and John Howard.

Forest Road Acquisition Corp. II

• Celebrity association: serves as a strategic adviser.
• Other notable people: Former exec and brief CEO , Martin Luther King III.
• Note: This is the second SPAC Shaq has been part of. The first, Forest Road Acquisition Corp., took public earlier this year.

Mission Advancement Corp.

• Celebrity association: serves as co-sponsor and co-chairman.
• Other notable people: Jahn Najafi, CEO of .

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