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Celebrity cohort cashes in on investment ventures
Wealth begets wealth. That is, the more income invested the greater the wealth generated. It’s a simple yet powerful concept that a new study has shown has helped many top earning celebrities grow and secure their long-term financial future.
The investment study conducted by research firm Invezz analysed data from Crunchbase on celebrity investments that received the most money during various funding stages and how successful their companies were.
It showed that the top earning celebrities usually made a fortune off their business ventures and investments rather than their earnings.
The report found Kanye West’s fashion lable Yeezy was the most successful celebrity owned businesses, followed by Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS and Beats by Dre. Finance, cryptocurrency and software were the most popular industries to invest in amongst celebrity investors during 2022.
“Taking top spot is Kanye West’s clothing brand, Yeezy, with an estimated worth of US$5 billion. Yeezy is best known for its collaboration with Adidas, producing a number of hugely successful shoes. Yeezy has also collaborated with Gap to produce a line of hoodies,” the report showed.
Kanye West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, took second place with her clothing brand, SKIMS. SKIMS sells shapewear clothing, as well as underwear and loungewear, and its success has earned Kardashian’s company a valuation of $3.2 billion.
According to the report, the sale of Dr. Dre’s Beats to Apple made him the wealthiest hip-hop artist in the world. “Beats by Dre, owned by none other than Dr. Dre, completes our top three with a $3 billion estimated worth. In 2014 Apple bought Beats for $3 billion, $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock for the company, with Dr. Dre maintaining a 25 per cent stake in the business.”
Data from Crunchbase showed Mark Cuban as the leading celebrity investor with the most successful and largest number of investments. Ashton Kutcher took second place with his investment firm, Sound Ventures, the most active celebrity investment firm. It made 173 investments since it was founded in 2015, averaging almost 26 investments a year.
“Mark Cuban takes the top spot with a whopping $3.3 billion raised from companies he has invested in, $600 million more than any other celebrity investor on this list. The American entrepreneur is also the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks,” the report highlighted. “The first of his 217 was Mobile 360. Since 2011, Mark has been a regular on the show Shark Tank, which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to invest in upcoming businesses.”
“Ashton Kutcher completes our top three with $2 billion dollars raised by the companies he has invested in. The American actor, who starred in Two and a Half Men, is one of many celebrities who has invested in MoonPay, which received $555 million in its last funding round, making up over a quarter of the $2 billion,” the report showed.
Celebrities Will Smith and The Chainsmokers also made the list, both raising large sums of venture capital money.
Four female celebrities also featured in the top 20 most successful celebrity investors list.
The list included Gwyneth Paltrow (portfolio worth $782 million), Oprah Winfrey ($736 million), Serena Williams ($684 million) and Natalie Portman ($658 million).
“Interestingly, Will Smith and The Chainsmokers conclude the top 10, having both joined Jared Leto in investing in Step, which is a mobile banking company for teenagers,” the report highlighted. “In its most recent round of funding Step raised $100 million, which makes up around 9 per cent of both Will Smith and The Chainsmokers total amount.”
