9 Celebrity Business Owners You May Not Know About
- By Harri Insider Team | January 2, 2024
What have Papa John’s, Neat Burger, and Nobu Hospitality all got in common? No, not just that they’re some of our favourite places to grab a bite – they all have famous owners or investors!
We’ve pulled together this list to highlight some of the best celebrity-backed businesses and maybe inspire your next choice!
Shaquille O'Neill - "The King of Franchises"
Shaq has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies – if you can excuse the pun – and he owns franchises in Papa Johns, Auntie Anne’s and Krispy Kreme.
Fun fact: since 2020, Papa Johns has raised more than $9.6 million through sales of the Shaq-A-Roni Pizza for The Papa Johns Foundation.
Venus Williams - Jamba Juice
Not only is Venus Williams one of greatest tennis players of all time, but she’s also a highly successful entrepreneur. Venus owns several Jamba locations in the Washington D.C. and Maryland areas.
“I share Jamba’s mission to inspire and simplify healthy living and promote a healthy active lifestyle”
Rick Astley - Mikkeller
We’re no strangers to love, and it’s not just us who love Rick Astley! When Rick met Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, the founder of Danish microbrewery Mikkeller, they collaborated to create “Astley’s Northern Hop Lager.” Since then, they’ve joined forces to bring Mikkeler to London.
This is surely the most reliable celebrity-backed business as we all know Rick is never gonna let Mikkel down, run around and desert him…
Mark Walhberg - Wahlburgers
Mark and his siblings founded Wahlburgers, an 80-location burger franchise.
Fun fact: You can watch their story unfold on A&E reality series, “Wahlburgers.”
Lewis Hamilton & Leonardo DiCaprio - Neat Burger
Revving up the unexpected, F1 legend Lewis Hamilton and Hollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio are both investors in NeatBurger, a plant-based restaurant concept with locations spanning from London to Dubai.
“We created Neat Burger to make plant-based eating more accessible to everyone, whether you eat plant-based all the time or just want to add it to your diet every now and again.”
Patrick Mahomes - Whataburger
Hailing from the Lone Star State, Mahomes grew up on Whataburger, which inspired him to bring it to Kansas City, where he’s opening 30 restaurants over the course of 7 years.
Drew Brees - Co-Owner of Walk-On's and Former All-Pro Quarterback
As well as becoming a co-owner in Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, he also owns franchises in Dunkin‘ Donuts and Jimmy John’s!
“I had a dream to open my own sports bar concept, but when I walked into Walk-On’s in New Orleans, I knew this was it. Walk-On’s has something special.”
Robert De Niro - Nobu Hospitality
You know him from Goodfellas, The Godfather, or one of his other 100+ films, but did you know that he owns a luxury hospitality brand spanning 5 continents?
Robert De Niro founded Nobu Hospitality, along with world-renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa and film producer Meir Teper.
Lebron James - Blaze Pizza
Back in 2012, James invested $1 million into Blaze Pizza, and now, that dough has risen into a sensation with over 340+ locations across the U.S.
Fun fact: James has gone unrecognized while working at Blaze as “Ron,” just another regular on the job.
