These movie stars are great in business too!

Some time ago we mentioned these Hollywood talents who experienced painful reversals of fortune, sometimes even to the point of ruin. Bad financial investments, expensive and destructive lifestyles, outrageous legal fees, all kinds of fraud, colossal financial failures at the box office… these are not the reasons that are lacking to explain the bankruptcy of certain Hollywood talents.

To the point that sometimes he has to submit to his regime Chapter 11 of the US Federal Code; The so-called “protective” procedure that allows a company or an individual to avoid bankruptcy through restructuring and not being able to meet its demands with its debtors.

In contrast to these personal failures, of course, there are those for whom business goes quite well, in some cases building veritable financial empires. Which in no way prevents them from occasionally seeing their values ​​change with the financial market, of course…

Ryan Reynolds, Gin and Creativity

Of course, Ryan Reynolds is not the richest man in Hollywood; far away His property is estimated at 150 million dollars.; It is far from the weight of Tom Cruise and his 600 million. But Deadpool’s bank account can only grow and grow thanks to smart investments.

Last June through France International festival of creativity In Cannes, Reynolds has explained to a captive audience That it’s because he went through the trouble of trying to put together Deadpool for ten years, something that Fox initially didn’t believe in, that he decided to invest himself in creating his company called Maximum Effort. That is, whether he believes in his struggle or not. A company whose marketing department was acquired by MNTN in 2021; A company specializing in high-tech advertising and creative. The actor was bombarded like that Chief Creative Officer Within MNTN.

With his stamps on two opus dead poolHe also invested money to buy branded alcohol, Aviation gin, now serves Virgin luxury cruises, the brand founded by billionaire Richard Branson. Alcohol brands are also a very safe bet among Hollywood stars.

George Clooney and his love for tequila

The beginning of the story is accidental. George Clooney bought a house in Mexico, relatively close to Rand Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s husband. Now my friends, these new neighbors used to go out for a glass of tequila regularly before they realized that most of the brands they were served were either not good or too expensive and they had a headache.

And why not create your own brand at the same time? After two years of research to find a production site, it was done in 2013 with the launch of the brand. Kazamigoswhich also finds a distributor in the United States.

Below, a commercial shot by the partners in 2013, feat. Cindy Crawford, to celebrate the launch of their brand of tequila..

“George doesn’t need money, neither do I, nor does Michael. That’s why we didn’t release this tequila, we wanted it to be something everyone could drink, not sell it as a product. Great luxury.” Rand Gerber explained to A Interview with Business Insider in March 2017. Nevertheless, the brand aimed to reach a high level, which was priced at $50 per bottle.

Sales have experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Since 2015, they have increased by 54%. In 2016, 120,000 units of tequila were sold; Target 170,000 cases in 2017.

In June 2017, the brand Kazamigos announced that it had been acquired by the world’s number one spirits company, DiageoA British giant that especially owns whiskey brands Johnnie Walker and brand of vodka Smirnoff.

The amount of the purchase is absolutely colossal: we are talking about an envelope of 700 million dollars, plus another 300 million for the coming years. “If we were asked 4 years ago if we have a billion-dollar business in our hands, I don’t think we would have said yes.”After this sale, George Clooney responded. Today, the former Dr. Ross is worth $500 million.

Robert De Niro, The Godfather of Empire

In addition to being worth around $500 million, Robert De Niro is the lord of Tribeca, named after the ultra-popular neighborhood/neighborhood in New York City. In order to revive the post-9/11 Manhattan economy, De Niro came up with the idea of ​​creating a festival in the area in 2002, in addition to adding a luxury hotel, a high-end Japanese restaurant called Nobu (named after chef Nobu Matsuhisa, with whom it is associated) and another restaurant, Tribeca Grill.

In 2004, he invested no less than $14 million in a popular real estate program located nearby. hudson street Still in the same neighborhood of Tribeca. In fact, Bob had been investing heavily in the neighborhood since the late 1980s as a shrewd businessman, at a time when not many people really cared about land in the neighborhood…

In any case, the municipality can thank you very much. Between 2002 and 2010, the Tribeca Film Festival generated approximately $660 million in revenue, attracting 2.3 million festival-goers.

Bob’s new passion is developing luxury hotel complexes around the brand. Nobu, in addition to developing a chain of restaurants under this brand in the United States and abroad (including France). Code name: Nobu Hospitality.

After the inauguration Nobu Resort After Las Vegas, De Niro moved to Manila, Philippines. In January 2014, Ori, associated with Macau-based wealthy businessman Lawrence Ho, announced the creation of the Casino – Resort hotel complex. The cost of the operation: 1.2 billion dollars. Yes, anyway.

And while you’re in Asia, why not take a look at China, where luxury tourism is growing as fast as the number of billionaires? In fact, Bob has already thought about it, and it was planned in 2016, with “Project 179”, for which he cooperated with an American consortium.

It was a giant real estate complex located on the seafront in Shanghai, including luxury hotels (hence the Nobu, definitely…), ad hoc shops, a cinema, a cultural and arts center… We don’t know the financial details. operation, but imagine that the amount of slate was colossal.

If we talk about it in the past tense, it is because we have been without news of the project since then; probably dormant. The pandemic and the very heavy restrictions in China probably didn’t help matters either.

In 2020, the actor said that the pandemic had seriously damaged his empire, forcing him to take out a $500,000 loan to cover some of Nobu’s bad debts. By April of that year, Nobu had lost $3 million; and 1.9 million dollars in the following month. During the pandemic, the total shutdown of many sectors, in particular food and tourism, had devastating consequences, the consequences of which are still being assessed.

Mark Wahlberg, Family Business

“I’m more of a businessman than anything” Mark Wahlberg said in 2015; “Acting takes me away from my family for too long. My whole philosophy has changed. An acting career is short, but a business can last a lifetime.” This is a point of view that not everyone is bound to share.

Anyway, aside from being an actor, Mark Wahlberg is one hell of a producer, known for his hollow nose. Associated with his friend Steve Levinson, it started with the Entourage series, which will never stop: in Treatment, Boardwalk Empire, but also in the cinema with Fighter, Prisoners, etc.

when he came to us” explained Michael Lombardo, HBO’s program manager, “We thought he was still one of those brooding guys, just wanting to put his name on something. In fact, his promotion as a producer is amazing. He has an incredible eye for good scripts, talent and directors. Something I never imagined , when I first met him many years ago.”

Happy movie and series producer. And then there’s the business outside of the Hollywood industry. It starts with a restaurant Walhburgers, in which he is associated with his two other brothers, Donnie and Paul. The restaurant became the environment The real show Since January 2014, we have been in the culinary department with the restaurant Alma-NoveNamed after the matriarch of the Wahlberg clan and her nine children.

a follower fitnessHe also placed some nuts in the mineral water production company, the so-called AquahydrateEnriched mineral water to boost recovery after intense exercise…

“They came to me and told me all this about osmosis and minerals and other regenerative properties. Things I didn’t care about and didn’t understand.” Wahlberg will say; “But when I started drinking this water, my recovery from workouts instantly changed”. possible; But it sounds like a teleshopping speech.

To top the investment cake, Wahlberg wanted to develop American football…in India, creating Elite Football League of Indiaconsisting of 10 teams. The actor is associated with Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner in this business. It seems almost surreal in a country more used to cricket. But nothing stops Mark Mark.

Ashton Kutcher, venture capitalist

No, Ashton Kutcher didn’t wait to impersonate Steve Jobs to own a business. In fact, the My Uncle Charlie actor is an iconic example of Hollywood stars who have a hollow nose when it comes to business.

Already in 2009, Kutcher was convinced by Marc Andreessen, super heavyweight. Silicon Valleyto place some of his marbles in the company Skype. At the time, a company specializing in free calls between computers was worth no more than $2.75 a share; A price that some found ironic because it was already so high. Yeah, but here it is: Microsoft was there and has since bought the company, for $8 billion…one hell of a good investment for Ashton.

Passionate about all things digital, regularly appears among them early adoptersAshton Kutcher founded his company in 2011, A Grade investments, specializes in venture capital. To remind you, or for those who do not know about it, venture capital investors bring capital, as well as their networks and experience to the creation and early stages of the development of innovative companies or technologies that are considered to have a high potential for development and return on investment. .

And the actor-businessman makes investments with a vengeance, especially in the development of applications for smartphones. A total of 67 investments have been made. Among them is the company Airbnb A lot of talk (and an estimated $81 billion!); Spotify; Uber; pathApp for sharing photos; BloomThatUltra fast florist service… in short, a big list, Available here.