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Drunk on Money? Why Celebrities Are Investing in Alcohol Brands
More celebrities are investing in alcohol brands than ever before. Here's why.
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In recent years, a growing number of celebrities have invested in or even started their own alcoholic beverage brands. George Clooney was among the first, but now Blake Lively, Dwayne Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Eva Longoria, Gabrielle Union, Nick Jonas, Kate Hudson, Blake Shelton and others have joined the seemingly endless list of stars with alcohol-related product lines.
For these stars, the gambit has undoubtedly paid off. As they say, the rich get richer. But as a business owner, you can get buzzed just like your favorite stars — no drop of alcohol needed. It’s just a matter of finding the right celebrity investor.
Why celebrities increasingly invest in alcohol brands
From hard liquor to fizzy drinks to nonalcoholic mixers, what makes these alcohol-related businesses so appealing to the biggest stars?
- Alcohol is no longer taboo: Mark Haas, CEO of food and beverage CPG firm The Helmsman Group, said it’s all about lifestyle branding and society’s normalization of alcohol. “Celebrities today have so much media power and a platform to communicate more about who and what they are,” Haas said. “Historically, celebrities would have entered licensing deals for royalties. Alcohol was always taboo, and many of these royalty agreements used to contain morality clauses. Today, alcohol doesn’t seem to be the forbidden territory it once was. Celebrities are free to engage in marketing, and spirits [are] more lucrative equity territory.”
- Alcohol is a profitable industry: The alcoholic beverage industry is unquestionably a profitable one. Online alcohol sales, takeout cocktails and alcohol apps are flourishing. In fact, according to Grand View Research, the global alcoholic drinks market was valued at about $1.76 trillion in 2024 and is projected to hit $3.02 trillion by 2030. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder so many celebrities are diving in headfirst.
- Celebs have money to invest: Celebs have no shortage of spending money. “These high-profile celebrities are also high-net-worth individuals with cash on hand for the right business opportunity,” Haas explained.
- Brands are eager for star investors: Of course, a celebrity-backed investment offer is also a boon for the brand itself. “Numerous studies have already shown that celebrities can affect consumer behavior, especially if the celebrity’s image aligns with the brand,” said Clint Proctor, lead editor at Forbes Advisor. “Having celebrities as your investors can help you increase your sales and make your brand more recognizable to people. The celebrity’s fans or followers [will] associate the celeb’s positive image with your brand.”
- The alcohol industry has fast turnaround times: Celebrities may also gravitate toward the alcohol industry because unique products can go from concept to shelf relatively quickly. Some spirits, like tequila, don’t require long aging periods, allowing for shorter production cycles and faster launches. This makes it easier to build momentum, capitalize on hype and be ready to release the next batch as soon as the first one sells out. (That said, “luxury” brands that take longer to produce can still be highly profitable — they just sell at a premium price.)
Famous celebrity alcohol brands
One prominent example of a celebrity alcohol brand investment is Ryan Reynolds’ stake in Aviation Gin. Like any private equity investor, Reynolds invested in the company, supported it and cashed out. The key difference, said Haas, is that Reynolds’ participation in the brand was “simply earth-shattering.”
“Ryan Reynolds has millions of fans and followers and excellent material to work with — who can forget his commercials?” Haas said. “Three years of investment, and Reynolds cashed out with $610 million.”
Here are a few other notable celebs who’ve made their mark in the alcohol industry.
George Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila
George Clooney co-founded Casamigos Tequila in 2013 with longtime friend Rande Gerber. Originally created for personal use among friends, the brand quickly grew thanks to its smooth profile and Clooney’s star power. It became one of the most talked-about celebrity spirits — and one of the most lucrative. In 2017, Casamigos was sold to Diageo in a deal worth up to $1 billion, depending on performance milestones. Clooney’s success helped pave the way for countless other celebrity-driven alcohol brands.
Blake Lively’s Betty Booze
Best known for her acting career and impeccable style, Blake Lively entered the alcohol space with Betty Booze in 2023 — a line of sparkling cocktails made with real juice and clean ingredients. The brand followed her earlier nonalcoholic mixer launch, Betty Buzz, and keeps the same playful, retro-inspired branding. While Lively and Ryan Reynolds tend to keep their businesses separate, her venture into spirits pairs neatly with his wildly successful run with Aviation Gin. Consider it a power couple pouring success into every glass.
Jay-Z’s D’ussé Cognac
Jay-Z — and his famous spouse, Beyoncé — have been investing in liquor brands for years as part of their massive empire. Jay-Z’s involvement with D’ussé even included a Grand Champagne cognac from 1969 with his signature and a gold leaf seal on the bottle, which Sotheby’s valued between $24,000 and $75,000. In 2021, the bottle sold for $52,500 at a Sotheby’s auction benefiting the Shawn Carter Foundation.
In recent developments, Bacardi acquired the majority stake in the D’Ussé joint venture in 2023 after settling a legal dispute, while Jay‑Z retained a significant ownership share. Not long after, his VC firm — Marcy Venture Partners — invested in The Finnish Long Drink, which has seen explosive interest from Gen Z and millennial drinkers. He’s also famously linked to Armand de Brignac champagne (aka “Ace of Spades”), which he acquired in the mid-2000s and later sold a 50 percent stake in to LVMH in 2021.
Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl
Frankel’s iconic bottles with their “skinny girl” silhouette can be found on shelves virtually anywhere alcohol is sold. Skinnygirl, known for its flagship Skinnygirl margarita product, offers lower-calorie versions of wine, cocktails and other popular drinks, as well as nonalcoholic products like salad dressing.
Frankel founded Skinnygirl in 2009 and was one of the first prominent female celebrities to launch her own line. She sold the alcohol side of the business in 2011 to Beam Global (a Fortune Brands unit) but retained the Skinnygirl name and continues to lead the broader lifestyle brand.
In more recent developments, she’s staying in the nonalcoholic beverage space — partnering with the women-led Mingle Mocktails brand in 2023 — while maintaining her role as the face of Skinnygirl’s food, apparel and home products.
Matthew McConaughey’s Wild Turkey Longbranch Bourbon
Matthew McConaughey was the face of Wild Turkey Longbranch and a creative collaborator, helping to develop the bourbon’s distinctive “Texas meets Kentucky” style, using mesquite filtration to shape Longbranch’s unique flavor.
At the end of 2022, Longbranch and McConaughey amicably split ties. The brand stated that although McConaughey’s signature will no longer appear on the bottle, he will always be part of the Wild Turkey family.
In more recent developments, McConaughey has pivoted within the spirits space to launch Pantalones Organic Tequila with his wife Camila in October 2023, complete with their cheeky “pantless” ad campaign. Since then, it has already attracted attention for its playful marketing and organic credentials.
Danny DeVito’s Premium Limoncello
DeVito’s jaunt into the world of celebrity alcohol easily stands out from the pack. That’s because there are very few American limoncello brands, even though the drink is quite popular in Italy. In 2007, DeVito found a hole in the market and filled it with organic lemons from Southern Italy and his own massive star power. After a successful run, DeVito’s partnership with Seven Cellos LLC ended in 2010, and the brand is no longer in production.
David Beckham and Haig Club
Beckham helped create Haig Club, a modern single-grain Scotch whisky, in 2014 and maintained a strong brand partnership for nearly a decade. The Haig Club site once noted that the soccer star logged thousands of air miles attending brand launches and promotional events around the world.
In 2023, Beckham ended his partnership with Haig Club, ostensibly to pursue his own ambitions in the beverage industry. However, as of 2025, he hasn’t launched a new alcoholic brand. While he remains active in consumer brand partnerships — including recent work with Stella Artois and PerfectDraft — a spirits label bearing his name has yet to materialize.
Drake’s Virginia Black American Whiskey
Virginia Black’s website is sleek, classy and moody — even featuring musical accompaniment from a Canadian R&B duo. Unlike many celebrities with alcohol lines, Drake doesn’t appear prominently on the site, save for a detailed bio on the About page that outlines his role as co-founder alongside spirits entrepreneur Brent Hocking.
Launched in 2016, Virginia Black blends two-, three- and four-year-old bourbons to create a rich, high-rye profile with sweet notes of vanilla and cinnamon. It made a splash from day one, setting sales records in Ontario and selling 30,000 cases globally in its first year.
Post Malone’s Maison No. 9
Bottles of Maison No. 9 rosé wine feature stylized images of a sword, which references one of Post Malone’s signature face tattoos. The sword can also be found in a dreamily shot video at the top of Maison No. 9’s website. The video features the high-profile artist in Regency-reminiscent wear in a summery garden, lending itself to the light flavors of the rosé.
Launched in June 2020, Maison No. 9 is crafted in Provence as a Méditerranée IGP blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Merlot. It hit shelves with a splash, selling 50,000 bottles during its pre-sale and selling out within two days, and is still going strong.
Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila
Like the rest of her family’s empire, model Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila stresses family and luxury at every step. Only the best ingredients are grown and harvested on family-owned farms to produce this award-winning spirit. Interestingly, Jenner shifted her look from sleek and expensive to jeans and a baseball cap for the images on 818’s site, as if she too were harvesting agave on the farm.
Launched in early 2021, 818 quickly made waves, selling out its pre‑order in under two days and moving over 130,000 cases in its first year. It continues to thrive today, thanks to savvy marketing, celebrity appeal and a strong focus on quality.
How to attract a celebrity investor to your startup
Whether or not you’re in the food and beverage industry, your startup may be ripe for funding — and who says that investment can’t come from somebody famous? While preexisting connections to celebrities can certainly help, there are a few things you can do to make your product appealing to a prospective investor:
- Understand your potential investor: According to Proctor, the key to attracting high-profile investors (or any investor, for that matter) is researching the investor’s background thoroughly. “You’ll have to make sure that this is an investor whose image is aligned with your brand,” Proctor advised. “It’s also as important that their followers or market also coincides with your target market, or else the partnership might not be beneficial for both parties.”
- Ensure the connection is organic: Proctor further advised ensuring the investor is truly bought into your brand before signing any deals. “Staged partnerships can easily be noticed by people, so having an investor who is genuinely excited [about] and supportive of your brand and vision can help your company massively,” Proctor added.
With the right product and the right celebrity behind it, you too can wind up drunk on money — without the hangover.
Julie Thompson contributed to this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
