Follow the Clooney guide to getting rich
Starting a business can be easier than many of us think
Tired of toiling for the man? Ready to get rich? Then be like George Clooney! No, don’t go into acting. That requires youth, looks and luck and can’t make you megarich. No one ever made the Forbes 400 simply acting. A-listers may earn $20 million a movie but the earned income tax rates, luxury villas, private planes, spa treatments, diamond studded yoga coaches, drug dealers and hangers-on devour it. (Just ask Johnny Depp.)
Like Clooney, all uber-rich celebrities launched businesses. He just made headlines selling the tequila brand he and two buddies started four years ago to Diageo. They get $700 million now plus $300 million over 10 years when their baby, Casamigos, hits sales goals.
Clooney and crew, Mike Meldman and Rande Gerber (aka Mr. Cindy Crawford), did what most of the Forbes rich list’s richest did: start a company. Seven of America’s top 10 billionaires are selfmade. They had an idea, made a product, gathered capital, marketed it, worked hard and made mountains of moola.
Oprah Winfrey’s talk show did her proud, but her wealth comes from starting Harpo, her production company. George Lucas’ real moneymaker was Lucasfilm and its ongoing merchandising juggernaut. Stephen Spielberg? His bucks come from Amblin Entertainment and Dreamworks, not director’s fees.
Endless more entertainer crossovers aren’t on the Forbes multibillionaire list, but are multimillionaires. Rapper Dr. Dre could be a billionaire soon, due to his record outfit and a little endeavor called Beats. Killer headphones make more money than killer rhymes. Jessica Alba is on it, too — not for her roles in Fan
tastic Four and elsewhere but for co-founding The Honest Company, currently valued at $1.7 billion. Kate Hudson’s active-wear brand Fabletics is worth $250 million and growing. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s baking start-up, Foodstirs, is only two years young but is stirring the money pot.
Starting businesses can be intimidating. But it’s easier than