A-List Angels: How a Band of Actors, Artists, and Athletes Hacked Silicon Valley

by Zack O'Malley Greenburg

Overview

How Hollywood cashed in on the latest tech boom-and changed the face of Silicon Valley.


When Ashton Kutcher first heard about 50 Cent's nine-figure Vitaminwater windfall in 2007, the actor realized he'd been missing out. He soon followed the rapper's formula-seeking equity instead of cash for endorsement deals-but with a twist: as the first person to top 1 million Twitter followers, Kutcher leveraged his social reach to accumulate stakes in a vast range of user-hungry tech startups.


A decade later, Kutcher is perhaps the brightest in a firmament of star investors from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez. Bartering credibility and connections in exchange for early (and often discounted) access to the world's most coveted investment opportunities, this diverse group changed the face of venture capital while amassing portfolios packed with companies like Airbnb, Spotify, and Uber. But how did two once-dissonant universes-Silicon Valley and Hollywood-become intertwined?


Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg told the first chapter of Kutcher's transformation for the magazine's cover story in 2016. Now he offers a lively, page-turning account of how this motley crew of talent managers, venture capitalists, and celebrities helped the creative class forge a brand-new blueprint for generational wealth. Through extensive reporting and exclusive interviews with more than 100 key players-including Shaq, Nas, Joe Montana, Sophia Bush, Steve Aoki, Tony Gonzalez, and dozens of behind-the-scenes power brokers-Greenburg sheds light on the unlikely group that fundamentally transformed the value of fame.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316485081
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	03/10/2020
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	622,839
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Zack O'Malley Greenburg is the senior editor of media & entertainment at Forbes and the author of 3 Kings, Empire State of Mind, and Michael Jackson, Inc. His work has also appeared in the Washington Post,Billboard, Vibe, McSweeney's, and Sports Illustrated. Zack has served as an expert source for NPT, BBC, MTV, and CBS's 60 Minutes; as a speaker, he has appeared at SXSW, CES, TEDx, Harvard, and Yale. He lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 Employees Only 1

Chapter 2 Crash Course 18

Chapter 3 Liquid Gold 37

Chapter 4 Dude, Where's My Startup? 53

Chapter 5 From Gaga to Google 73

Chapter 6 Nasdaq Dough 90

Chapter 7 Spotify Spotter 107

Chapter 8 New Ownership 123

Chapter 9 Stocks for Jocks 139

Chapter 10 Icarus, Inc. 155

Chapter 11 Doing Well 167

Chapter 12 Doing Good 182

Acknowledgments 195

Giving Back 199

Glossary 201

Notes 209

Index 245

Editorial Reviews

"An inspirational tale of the unlikely bunch that not only cracked the code for startup investing, but also brought a much-needed infusion of diversity to Silicon Valley. It's an essential read."—Arianna Huffington


"Another one! Zack's latest book has the keys to securing the bag on the highest level-it's not about cash, it's about getting that equity."—DJ Khaled


"Exciting, well-researched chronicle of how a group of actors, athletes and artists have emerged as mega-successful venture capitalists. Their stories underscore the inspiring truth that great entrepreneurs can emerge from the most unlikely backgrounds ... an un-putdown-able masterpiece."—Steve Forbes

From the Publisher

2020-01-12
The Forbes senior editor of media and entertainment takes a look at modern show business-based entrepreneurship.

Hollywood has always had its business-minded celebrities: Think of Fess Parker, who bought up vast swaths of Southern California real estate, or Roy Rogers, who built a restaurant chain in his name. The new breed, writes Greenburg, is likelier to invest in intangibles and speculative tech-based ventures. One to whom he pays particular attention is Ashton Kutcher, who built a considerable fortune playing film characters such as, fittingly enough, Steve Jobs and starring in one of the most popular series on TV, earning him the highest salary in the business. With a partner, Kutcher founded an investment fund worth $30 million in 2010 that soon grew to more than $250 million. The author credits him with doing his own homework and following an investment philosophy: "look for companies solving a real problem…and consider unglamorous sectors." It's a philosophy that other celebrities, from Shaquille O'Neal to Jennifer Lopez and a small army of hip-hop stars, have taken to following. Examples include investment in a Los Angeles-based "company that makes companies," software that rounds up purchases and invests the change in index funds, and a "Fitbit for cows" that tracks a bovine critter's reproductive health and other issues. Having celebrity spokespeople and investors helps, but the companies Greenburg profiles are absolutely on track in solving real problems, even if they are sometimes real problems that most of us don't have—e.g., how to snag a seat on a charter jet in the same way an earthbound traveler summons a rideshare driver. Though at heart his book is an extended magazine article, there's plenty of interest here, especially when the author looks at inventive philanthropy such as Matt Damon's Water.org, which brings plumbing to poor communities but also works "to create venture funds that generate low single-digit returns by giving cheap microloans."

Solid business writing that will interest budding moguls.

Kirkus Reviews

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