Nas, Serena Williams and the Growing World of Celebrity-Funded Startups

Ashton Kutcher, Nas and Serena Williams are all investing in startups

Sound Ventures Co-Founder Ashton Kutcher speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 at Moscone Convention Center on October 04, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
Sound Ventures Co-Founder Ashton Kutcher speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 at Moscone Convention Center on October 04, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
Getty Images for TechCrunch

If you’ve ever wondered how the rich and famous manage to stay so absurdly wealthy, new analysis by Tide.co might provide some insight: many celebrities are banking on startups, providing entrepreneurs with investment capital.

Ashton Kutcher tops the list of celebrity investors ranked by total dollars, having invested in rounds totaling $3.1 billion. He co-founded the venture capital firm A-Grade Investments in 2010 and famously turned $30 million into $250 million by investing in companies like Skype, Spotify, Airbnb, Uber and Foursquare.

Second on the list is Nas, who has invested in rounds totaling $1.4 billion. The rapper is a founding member of Queensbridge Venture Partners, which has funded companies like Dropbox and RapGenius.

Carmelo Anthony, Jared Leto and Jay-Z round out the top five celebrity investors. Serena Williams, who comes in at No. 8, is the only woman in the top 10. Overall, software and e-commerce were the two types of companies that celebrities invested in the most ($5.2 billion for 264 deals and $3.1 billion for 160 deals, respectively). You can check out the complete list here.

Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.