George Clooney last appeared on the big screen in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped him topping this year’s Forbes’ ranking of the world’s highest-paid actors. And it’s all thanks to tequila.
In June 2017, along with fellow founders Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman, Clooney sold his Casamigos Tequila brand for a reported $1 billion. According to Forbes, British liquor conglomerate Diageo paid $700 million upfront, with a further $300 to come over the next decade.
The 57-year-old actor topped this year’s ranking—which takes into account earnings between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018—with a career-high pre-tax paycheck of $239 million. An estimated $233 million of this came from the Casamigos sale, with additional earnings coming from royalties from older movies and endorsements.
The Casamigos deal sounds even sweeter when learning that the trio invested just $600,000 each when they founded the tequila brand in 2013. Gerber, Meldman, and Clooney are said to still be “extremely involved” in the future of the tequila, which they designed to be super smooth, and “hangover-free.”
With so much to celebrate, here’s hoping hangover-free tequila exists. (It doesn’t.)
