CELEBINVESTORS

The celebrity money desk
Who's really writing the cheques

●SERENA WILLIAMS 16 UNICORNS BACKED●REESE WITHERSPOON $900M MEDIA EXIT●OPRAH WINFREY $43M WEIGHT WATCHERS●GWYNETH PALTROW $250M GOOP VALUATION●RIHANNA $1B SAVAGE X FENTY●JESSICA ALBA HONEST CO. · NASDAQ IPO●HALLE BERRY BACKS WOMEN'S HEALTH●BEYONCÉ LEMON PERFECT BACKER●JENNIFER LOPEZ HIMS & HERS BACKER●KIM KARDASHIAN SKKY PARTNERS PE FUND●SELENA GOMEZ GOPUFF STRATEGIC PARTNER●PRIYANKA CHOPRA BUMBLE EARLY BACKER●DEEPIKA PADUKONE KA ENTERPRISES INVESTOR●SHAKIRA ISIMA HAIRCARE FOUNDER●NATALIE PORTMAN ANGEL CITY CO-FOUNDER●KERRY WASHINGTON ANGEL INVESTOR●MINDY KALING ANGEL INVESTOR●EVA LONGORIA CASA DEL SOL CO-FOUNDER●CAMERON DIAZ AVALINE CO-FOUNDER●DREW BARRYMORE FLOWER BEAUTY FOUNDER●KATE HUDSON FABLETICS CO-FOUNDER●BLAKE LIVELY BETTY BUZZ FOUNDER●VENUS WILLIAMS ELEVEN FOUNDER●NAOMI OSAKA HANA KUMA CO-FOUNDER●MARIA SHARAPOVA PROLIFIC WELLNESS ANGEL●TYRA BANKS FIERCE CAPITAL FOUNDER●KARLIE KLOSS BEDFORD MEDIA FOUNDER●ISSA RAE TOPICALS & HILLTOP BACKER●KATY PERRY DE SOI CO-FOUNDER●KYLIE JENNER $1.2B KYLIE COSMETICS●BETHENNY FRANKEL SKINNYGIRL FOUNDER●MELINDA FRENCH GATES PIVOTAL VENTURES●CATHIE WOOD ARK INVEST CEO●MELLODY HOBSON ARIEL INVESTMENTS CO-CEO●KIRSTEN GREEN FORERUNNER VENTURES●SALLIE KRAWCHECK ELLEVEST CEO●MARY MEEKER BOND CAPITAL FOUNDER●ARLAN HAMILTON BACKSTAGE CAPITAL●BARBARA CORCORAN SHARK TANK INVESTOR●SHERYL SANDBERG EX-META COO●SARA BLAKELY FOUNDER OF SPANX●KATHY XU CAPITAL TODAY FOUNDER●JENNY LEE GRANITE ASIA PARTNER●SOLINA CHAU HORIZONS VENTURES●KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW BIOCON FOUNDER●FALGUNI NAYAR NYKAA FOUNDER●MARÍA ASUNCIÓN ARAMBURUZABALA TRESALIA CAPITAL●OLIVIA WILDE $500K–$2M CHEQUES●EMMA WATSON 2 DOCUMENTED DEALS●PARIS HILTON 20+ STARTUP BETS●THE FOSTER SISTERS BUMBLE AND MIRROR EARLY●GRACE BEVERLEY £6.2M IN TALA'S FIRST YEAR●AILEEN LEE COINED "UNICORN"●ANN MIURA-KO SEED INVESTOR IN LYFT●EMMA GREDE 8% OF SKIMS●NAMITA THAPAR 100+ COMPANIES BACKED●SERENA WILLIAMS 16 UNICORNS BACKED●REESE WITHERSPOON $900M MEDIA EXIT●OPRAH WINFREY $43M WEIGHT WATCHERS●GWYNETH PALTROW $250M GOOP VALUATION●RIHANNA $1B SAVAGE X FENTY●JESSICA ALBA HONEST CO. · NASDAQ IPO●HALLE BERRY BACKS WOMEN'S HEALTH●BEYONCÉ LEMON PERFECT BACKER●JENNIFER LOPEZ HIMS & HERS BACKER●KIM KARDASHIAN SKKY PARTNERS PE FUND●SELENA GOMEZ GOPUFF STRATEGIC PARTNER●PRIYANKA CHOPRA BUMBLE EARLY BACKER●DEEPIKA PADUKONE KA ENTERPRISES INVESTOR●SHAKIRA ISIMA HAIRCARE FOUNDER●NATALIE PORTMAN ANGEL CITY CO-FOUNDER●KERRY WASHINGTON ANGEL INVESTOR●MINDY KALING ANGEL INVESTOR●EVA LONGORIA CASA DEL SOL CO-FOUNDER●CAMERON DIAZ AVALINE CO-FOUNDER●DREW BARRYMORE FLOWER BEAUTY FOUNDER●KATE HUDSON FABLETICS CO-FOUNDER●BLAKE LIVELY BETTY BUZZ FOUNDER●VENUS WILLIAMS ELEVEN FOUNDER●NAOMI OSAKA HANA KUMA CO-FOUNDER●MARIA SHARAPOVA PROLIFIC WELLNESS ANGEL●TYRA BANKS FIERCE CAPITAL FOUNDER●KARLIE KLOSS BEDFORD MEDIA FOUNDER●ISSA RAE TOPICALS & HILLTOP BACKER●KATY PERRY DE SOI CO-FOUNDER●KYLIE JENNER $1.2B KYLIE COSMETICS●BETHENNY FRANKEL SKINNYGIRL FOUNDER●MELINDA FRENCH GATES PIVOTAL VENTURES●CATHIE WOOD ARK INVEST CEO●MELLODY HOBSON ARIEL INVESTMENTS CO-CEO●KIRSTEN GREEN FORERUNNER VENTURES●SALLIE KRAWCHECK ELLEVEST CEO●MARY MEEKER BOND CAPITAL FOUNDER●ARLAN HAMILTON BACKSTAGE CAPITAL●BARBARA CORCORAN SHARK TANK INVESTOR●SHERYL SANDBERG EX-META COO●SARA BLAKELY FOUNDER OF SPANX●KATHY XU CAPITAL TODAY FOUNDER●JENNY LEE GRANITE ASIA PARTNER●SOLINA CHAU HORIZONS VENTURES●KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW BIOCON FOUNDER●FALGUNI NAYAR NYKAA FOUNDER●MARÍA ASUNCIÓN ARAMBURUZABALA TRESALIA CAPITAL●OLIVIA WILDE $500K–$2M CHEQUES●EMMA WATSON 2 DOCUMENTED DEALS●PARIS HILTON 20+ STARTUP BETS●THE FOSTER SISTERS BUMBLE AND MIRROR EARLY●GRACE BEVERLEY £6.2M IN TALA'S FIRST YEAR●AILEEN LEE COINED "UNICORN"●ANN MIURA-KO SEED INVESTOR IN LYFT●EMMA GREDE 8% OF SKIMS●NAMITA THAPAR 100+ COMPANIES BACKED
Media

Celebrity media investors

Media people invest with an unfair advantage: they can move a brand by talking about it, and they know it, so they tend to negotiate ownership before the promotion starts. Oprah Winfrey bought roughly 10% of Weight Watchers and joined the board rather than signing an endorsement; the deals in this category usually follow that shape.

7 profiles in this category

Frequently asked questions

Why do media figures get equity instead of fees?
Because their attention is the asset. A television host or a magazine founder can add distribution a startup cannot buy, and increasingly they take a stake in exchange for it — which also means they carry the downside if the business fails.
Is promoting a company you own a conflict of interest?
It is at least worth knowing about, which is part of why this site exists. Where someone holds equity in a brand they publicly champion, the profile says so and links to the reporting.