The entertainment business is well known for richly rewarding its most successful practitioners. What is not as well known is that a number of celebrities have also made or added to their fortunes as successful business owners. A selection of celebrities who double as business moguls:
George Clooney: Casamigos Tequila
George Clooney, along with Cindy Crawford’s husband Rande Gerber, turned their love for good tequila into a successful business selling their own brand of the alcoholic beverage. Their tequila was cited by Oprah as a favorite and also went on to win gold medals in spirits competitions.
Bono: Elevation Partners
Rock singer Bono, of U2 fame, has made a pretty penny releasing albums and touring the world with his band. What is less known is his status as a cofounder of private-equity company Elevation Partners, which has made a number of high profile investments. Among the companies that have been in its portfolio at one time or another: Palm, Inc. Facebook, and Yelp. The firm was said by Bloomberg to have invested $1.76 billion while achieving a 12% rate of return. Now that’s something to sing about!
Magic Johnson: Magic Johnson Enterprises
Former NBA superstar Magic Johnson has aimed at making investments that will strengthen urban communities. To that end, he has done deals with a variety of companies to help him build out his Magic Johnson Theater multiplexes. Magic earned $10 million from selling his ownership portion of the Los Angeles Lakers and his 125 Starbucks stores in 2010. Two years later he became part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. His net worth is reputed to be $1 billion, the vast majority of which came from his business, rather than basketball, ventures.
Jessica Alba: The Honest Company
Superstar actress Jessica Alba is the co-founder of the Honest Company, which is a supplier of nontoxic products for household use. The company has established a policy of transparency by which it pledges to let customers know where its products originated. In 2015, the company was valued at $1.7 billion, which makes Alba very rich indeed.
Serena Williams: HSN Collection
Tennis superstar Serena Williams took some time from notching up wins on the tennis court to design her own line of clothing to be sold on HSN. Her line, featuring updated looks for tunics and jackets, among other designs, made its debut during New York Fashion Week and attracted the sponsorship of the editor of Vogue, Anna Wintour.
Ashton Kutcher: A-Grade Investments
Ashton Kutcher made a lot of money in show biz, but he’s made a lot more as an investor through the venture capital A-Grade Investments, which he co-founded with entertainment manager Guy Oseary. The firm has invested in companies such as Uber, Spotify, and Airbnb. Reportedly the value of the fund was $100 million in 2014, a testament to the astuteness of Kutcher and his partner as investors.
Sammy Hagar: Cabo Wabo
Rock singer Sammy Hagar, of Van Halen fame, has profited from his investment in Cabo Wabo, his chain of restaurants and nightclubs. In addition to this investment, the name Cabo Wabo also extended to a brand of tequila owned by Hagar, which he reportedly sold in 2007 for $80 million.
Kate Hudson: Fabletics
Famous actress Kate Hudson has shown she’s no slouch when it comes to athletic wear. Her Fabletics athletics-wear line from JustFab has seen its sales rocket from $50 to $150 million in just its second year. After its online success, it has been reported that Fabletics plans to open a number of brick-and-mortar stores across the country.
Gloria and Emilio Estefan: restaurants, hotels, Univision, and the Miami Dolphins
Music business legends Gloria and Emilio Estafan have proven to be whizzes at other businesses as well. Their Florida restaurants, Bongos Cuban Café and Larios on the Beach are extremely popular eateries. Their hotels in the area have also done well. They have also become minority owners of the Miami Dolphins, and Gloria is on the board of directors of Spanish language media behemoth Univision.
Kevin Costner: Ocean Therapy Solutions
Besides his prodigious acting career, Kevin Costner has displayed skills in an area that few thespians would be likely to master. Inspired by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, he invented a device that can separate water from oil to help deal with fuel spills that endanger the environment. After the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, British Petroleum purchased 32 of the devices, reportedly netting Costner a cool $15 million.
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