10 Stars Who Made More From Business Than Movies

While most of Hollywood's biggest stars are known for their acting or musical talents, there's a significant number of stars that transitioned from stardom to entrepreneurship. In some cases, the stars in question earned significantly more through their respective business ventures than they ever did acting or singing, which is saying something considering how big some of the names of stars-turned-entrepreneurs are. Business ventures and investments can keep a star wealthy well past their prime and continue to finance a luxurious lifestyle even after the stars retire from the spotlight, making their fortunes less reliant on landing the next big part or dropping the next big hit. Here are twenty stars whose entrepreneurial adventures have earned them a significant fortune beyond their typical Hollywood endeavors.

To determine which stars belonged on this list, we started by looking at lists of celebrity brands. Then, we looked at the published financial details for each brand to see what each brand is worth, whether it was still owned or operated by the star in question, and if it was sold, for how much. This helped us gain an understanding of how the different brands started by celebrities started and fared in the market. It also helped us learn which celebrity brands were most successful and under what conditions those businesses were most lucrative.

The company JustFab spawned an off-shoot athleticwear line known as Fabletics in 2013. Soon after the company's founding, a spokesperson for the venture said that the company had "rapidly surpassed $300 million in annual revenue. In 2015, the company collaborated with actress Kate Hudson to bring their first celebrity-inspired athleticwear line to life. Fans of the company loved Hudson's body-positive approach to fashion, especially in the sector of athleticwear, which is often biased towards those with bodies that are already somewhat athletic. The company now produces men's and women's athleticwear and has a variety of brick-and-mortar stores where the company stocks clothing for immediate purchase based on their analysis of current trends.

While Dr. Dre remains a famous name in rap, it might be surprising to learn exactly how successful his company, Beats by Dre has become in the modern day. The company produced headphones with a notable bass boost in the design that allowed them to provide a unique sound profile to users that many people found very easy on the ears. Since its inception, the company has expanded beyond the typical over-the-ear headphones that it initially became known for. Now, Beats by Dre produces earbuds, headphones, speakers, and other music-listening paraphernalia for the most discerning musical clientèle. In September 2013, the Beats by Dre company, Beats Electronics LLC, was valued at $1 billion. Then, in 2014, Apple acquired the company in a massive cash and stock deal for $3 billion.

Many readers might recognize Jessica Alba for her contributions to film acting. However, in more recent years, she has become better known for her involvement in The Honest Company, a digital-first consumer goods company that focuses on selling natural and eco-friendly products that consumers need. Alba said she was inspired by the birth of her child in 2008 to create a company that provided alternatives to many common consumer goods that are often made with petrochemicals and other potentially harmful additives. Thus, she, Christopher Gavigan, and Brian Lee founded the Honest Company, which produces consumer goods such as diapers with a more transparent view of the chemical compounds used in production, including a list of chemicals the company promises to never include in its products. As of 2015, the company had over 90 products and its leading seller was diapers.

It might surprise you to know that George Clooney knows how to distill tequila at home. He used to make tequila for friends and family during his many trips to Mexico. However, he and two friends claimed to have come up with the perfect tequila recipe and they founded Casamigos Tequila to bring this magical brew to the public. The first bottles of Casamigos Tequila hit shelves in 2013 and since then it has grown into one of the biggest tequila producers in the world. Clooney and his friends operated the company until 2017 when the beverage company Diageo purchased Casamigos Tequila for $1 billion.

American singer Jessica Simpson launched her fashion brand, the Jessica Simpson Collection, in 2005. The brand initially got its start as a collaboration between Simpson and Nine West co-founder Vince Camuto and included a line of designer shoes. Since then, the collection has grown to include clothing, accessories, bags, and even luggage for fashionable women who want to stay ahead of the trends. However, the success of the Jessica Simpson Collection has been somewhat limited. It was sold in several upscale and department stores in the 2010s but the parent company, Sequential Brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011. In 2024, the company collaborated with Walmart, with clothes from the collection available in 800 Walmart stores nationwide.

Former basketball star Magic Johnson started an investment company, Magic Johnson Enterprises. The company was founded in 1987 and quickly struck investment deals with some big names such as Pepsi-Cola, T.G.I Fridays, and Best Buy. Notable investment deals taken on by Magic Johnson Enterprises include an equity stake in Loews Cineplex Entertainment, a deal with Starbucks in 1998, a multi-year marketing campaign with Best Buy, and a deal with Sodexo, which spawned the SodexoMAGIC LLC company, which is 51% owned by Magic Johnson himself. Johnson has also invested in several sports teams, including the Los Angeles Sparks, Los Angeles FC, the Washington Commanders, and the Washington Spirit. Johnson was valued at at least $1 billion when combining the income from both his sports career and entrepreneurship.

Bono is another star who took the money he generated from stardom and turned it into an investment company. Elevation Partners is named for the U2 song "Elevation" and is Bono's private investment firm, which he uses to make contributions to crucial tech and media companies. According to sources, Bono's Elevation Partners has invested at least $1.76 billion into tech and media companies such as Facebook, Forbes, and Yelp. Bloomberg reports that the company has a rate of return of 12% on its investments, generating $1.4 billion from its investment into Facebook alone. The official portfolio of Elevation Partners has closed as of 2015. However, Bono has gone on to start "The Rise Fund" which helps raise money to further the United Nations' seven sectors of sustainable development.

Actor Kevin Costner has a passion for cleaning up the world's oceans. After learning about the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 and then filming the movie "Waterworld" in 1995, Costner found his newest endeavor: creating a machine that could actively and efficiently separate water from oil. The resulting company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, sells machines that can separate water and oil quickly. These machines can separate 200 gallons of oil from water per minute when running and are designed to disrupt the local wildlife impacted by the oil spill as little as possible. In 2010, BP bought 32 of Costner's OTS machines to help clean up oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico, a venture worth $15 million.

Yet another actor turned investor is Ashton Kutcher, who founded A-Grade Investments in 2010 alongside the entertainment manager, Guy Oseary, and the investor and billionaire, Ron Burkle. Kutcher has used his investment firm to invest in a number of projects that have grown in size and notoriety, such as Spotify, Uber, and Airbnb. The venture capital firm is primarily focused on investing in bleeding-edge technology start-ups that aim to change the landscape of modern technology and create the future. By 2013, A-Grade Investments was valued at $100 million.

Beyoncé is another star who has made a significant fortune through investing and founding companies, although this is not where her primary wealth comes from. The singer's management company has at least $150,000 of investments in Sidestep, an app for getting access to concerts and fan merchandise. In 2016, the Sidestep app made over $2 million in revenue from its sales. Beyoncé also owns the activewear fashion brand, Ivy Park.