Ryan Reynolds boasts of being one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. Specifically, it occupies the number two position on the list recently updated by Forbes magazine. But his income does not come only from movies, but also from his businesses. One of them is Aviation American Gin, a brand of gin produced in Portland (Oregon, USA), which has just been sold for 610 million dollars (about 512 million euros). This has been announced by Diageo, a specialized British company in alcoholic beverages, which has acquired Davos Brands—a company that encompasses the Reynolds Gin brand, Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal and Tyku Sake—for an initial payment of $335 million (more than 281 million euros) and that will contribute the rest depending on the profitability of the product over the next ten years. The CEO of Diageo, Ivan Menezes, explained in a statement that his company seeks to gain a foothold in the most select beverage business, accustomed until now to moving in a cheaper market. A three-quarter-liter bottle of Aviation American Gin costs about $23, and it is currently the second largest gin brand of its kind in the United States. “We are confident that Aviation American Gin will continue to shape and drive the growth of super premium gin in North America and we look forward to working with Ryan Reynolds and the team at Davos Brands to accelerate future growth,” commented Menezes. In this way, the actor will maintain his minority stake in the brand, although it has not yet been specified whether he will continue his work as a spokesperson, since since he became co-owner in 2018 he has been the image of the drink. A brand that, despite having doubled its sales in 2019, has suffered the ravages of the coronavirus crisis like so many others. For example, a few months after purchasing part of the business, Reynolds began selling his gin on the planes of Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin airline, which is now bankrupt. However, Aviation American Gin resists because it is a product that in the United States is consumed more in private settings than in public places.Tycoon Richard Branson and actor Ryan Reynolds.TwitterAviation American Gin is the latest acquisition by Diageo, whose CEO is used to doing business with familiar faces. In 2017, he bought Casamigos, the tequila brand that George Clooney created four years earlier with Rander Gerber, husband of model Cindy Crawford, for $1 billion (€897 million at the time). That was a good deal for both the actor, who earned more millions of dollars than Reynolds now, and for Diageo, which in the last year has seen its net income grow by 70%.
George Clooney and Rander Gerber, husband of Cindy Crawford, founders of the Casamigos tequila brand. Celebrities thus go from being the image of a brand to being part of it, with the alcoholic beverage sector being one of the most sought after by companies. celebrities. Jay-Z, who is hip-hop's first billionaire, also owes his enormous fortune to the champagne and cognac business. Beyoncé's husband bought the Armand de Brignac champagne house in 2014, where he sells normal bottles for 265 euros and 30-liter bottles for 180,000. According to Forbes, the rapper's stake in the champagne house is worth €275 million. To which we must also add the 90 million euros at which his part of the business in the D'Usse cognac house is valued. Among Justin Timberlake's different businesses is tequila. He always had a weakness for this high-proof alcohol and decided to create his own brand in 2009, after visiting a distillery in Jalisco. He originally called it 901, after the zip code of his hometown of Memphis. The singer took the business to another level at the beginning of 2014 with Beam Suntory, the company that produces Sauza tequila, at a time when the consumption of this drink grew in the United States, a sector to which other stars have also joined. such as Carlos Santana, with Casa Noble, and Adam Levine, with Santo Mezquila. Drew Barrymore, Brad Pitt and Francis Ford Coppola prefer to focus on wines. A business path that Cameron Diaz has also chosen with a range of organic white and rosé wines called Avaline, made with Spanish grapes, specifically from the Catalan Penedés. “I have always believed that the key to well-being is balance. Creating a clean wine full of natural goodness and free of dozens of unwanted extras helps me find this balance when I'm enjoying a glass of wine,” says the actress in her presentation on Instagram.