Let’s face it, when you think of your favorite movie stars and musicians, you probably don’t equate them with being real estate investors like Stephen Ross in New York City, Samuel Kooris in Brooklyn, or Francis Choi in Hong Kong. Instead, these celebrities are your favorite characters in the movies you watch over and over and they sing the songs you love to rock out to in your car.
It’s likely that if someone rents in NYC, they might live in something owned by Stephen Ross. If they buy a toy, it’s probably made by one of Mr. Choi’s companies. Celebrity investors are known for helping launch start-ups, endorsing brands, and even When it comes to real estate investing, these stars have more in common with those big-name real estate investors than you’d expect. Here are some of the top celebrity investors and how they compare to big real estate investors.
Ashton Kutcher Knows How to Diversify
It seems like Mr. Kutcher is at the top of the list when it comes to celebrity investors. However, his investments in New York and around the world aren’t in real estate like Sam Kooris. Instead, his money is tied up in various startup businesses, with a huge portion of it going to tech companies in particular.
He does know how to diversify, however, and even though he has some favorite genres to invest in, much like Mr. Kooris, all of his eggs are not in one basket. Ashton Kutcher founded his own investment firm and digital media business located in New York. And his investments to date are valued at more than $3 billion.
Tyra Banks Has a Cause She Focuses Her Investments On
Known as a supermodel and women’s empowerment advocate, Tyra Banks is an incredible entrepreneur. Her investments focus on women-led businesses that are just starting up. Her main cause is to empower women. While most real estate investors are portrayed as ruthless tycoons, many of them help fund various causes or use their investments to make a difference.
While Tyra may not make her money on real estate investments, she does have something in common with the best of them. Her goals are more important than simply making a lot of money. When she invests, she looks for ways to lift people up and empower them. When Samuel Kooris and his team at Alchemy Ventures invest, they look for opportunities to improve neighborhoods and in turn, make people’s lives better in the areas where they live.
Magic Johnson Knows How to Transition Well
The best real estate investors know how to transition. They know when to make a deal, when to walk away, and when to sell. Magic Johnson made a name for himself first by playing basketball. But then he transitioned to creating his own investment firm and has become quite the name in the business world. Francis Choi knows how to switch between making toys and buying top real estate investments, and Magic Johnson knows how to transition between just investing in Starbucks, and when to add investments like life insurance to the mix.
Troy Aikman Knows Real Estate
While his investments may seem small at first, troy Aikman has made some serious cash in real estate. Francis Choi, Stephen Ross, and even Samuel Kooris are all known for their real estate investments. But what you may not know is that Troy Aikman is more than just a former football player. In fact, some of his investments led him to have tenants like Target and JCPenney in his properties. He made a huge chunk of change on Wingstop because he was an early investor that sold a big portion of shares later when the company went public.
Much like the other big real estate investors out there, he knows real estate and how to find a good deal. By focusing on finding the right opportunities and holding onto them until a later date, he’s been able to carve out a place in the real estate investment world. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as his company moves forward with new ideas, new ventures and new properties. Perhaps he’ll connect up with some of the best investors in real estate in one of his deals.
