8 celebrity businesses that could surprise you

 

Legendary rapper Dr Dre is on the verge of selling his headphone brand to Apple - for a staggering $3.2 BILLION, according to reports.

The tech giant will takeover the Beats Electronics brand - famed for its iconic Beats by Dre headphones - and music streaming operator as part of the deal according to The Finanical Times.

   Rapper 50 Cent with Vitamin Water   Photo: celebritynetworth

A deal could be announced as soon as next week as the Still Dre hitmaker prepares the celebrate becoming a billionaire.

The eye-watering sum would make it Apple's largest ever buy-up.

The brand Beats Electronics was a start-up by Dr Dre and his record label business partner, Jimmy Lovine, in 2008.

Here are other celebrity businesses that would surprise you:

Ashton Kutcher

One of the most incredible investors in Hollywood, Ashton Kutcher began his solo money spinning business plan by owning a portion of Foursquare, the popular social network which allows users to "check in" to locations. He's also behind an established investment company, A-Grade, which ploughed tens of millions into Skype and Spotify in the early years, as well as Yplan, Uber, Airbnb and Getaround. There is literally no possible way to estimate how much he's worth - but it's A LOT.

50 Cent

50 Cent invested and took part ownership of a company named Glaceau, known for making a distributing the drink Vitamin Water. He owned around 10% of the company which was sold to Coca-Cola for around £2.2billion in 2007. Initial reports suggested he cashed out for a staggering £250million but the accurate take was much less, but still not to be sniffed at. The rapper is believed to have walked away with a figure somewhere between £40-£60million. Not bad for a bottle of flavoured fluid, eh?

P Diddy

He's changed his name from Puff Daddy to Diddy - and back again. But after investing in a vodka deal with beverage giant Diageo, rapper Sean Combs has been calling himself Ciroc Obama. He already receives an annual cut of the profits but with the Ciroc brand rising up to a value of £700million, the Bad Boy For Life hitmaker might want to make a toast to that.

Bono

A private equity firm which Bono co-founded bought a 2.3 per cent of Facebook in 2009 for a sum of £56million. Just three years later the iconic social networking website was listed on the stock exchange and Bono's shares were valued at £940million.

Kevin Costner

Hollywood actor Kevin Costner wanted $14 million for 1,000 acres of land he owns near the Old West gambling town of Deadwood in South Dakota. The property includes the site of the ill-fated Dunbar casino resort, a $100 million project that would have included a golf course and a steam-powered passenger train. It never materialised, though.

Paul Newman

A food company founder by actor Paul Newman and author A.E. Hotchner in 1982 has raised more than £300million for charity. The pasta sauce brand, Newman's Own, gives 100% of the after-tax profits from sales to a private non-profit foundation. This allows the company to make such enormous donations to educational and charity organisations. Brilliant

Justin Timberlake

Sometimes a successful music and acting career isn't quite enough, so Justin Timberlake played a major role in the takeover of MySpace. He was part of a consortium who sealed the £20million deal.

Jay Z

His record label boasts some of hip-hops biggest artists but when there's a celebration, Jay Z's team head to his swanky 40/40 nightclub in New York. The exclusive chain of four sports bars and lounges turns over tens of millions every year