Ryan Reynolds may be best known for his portrayal of the clever Deadpool, but the actor is also developing a reputation as a savvy investor. After taking stakes in companies like Aviator Gin and Mint Mobile, the Canadian’s fortune from deals could far exceed his earnings from the film industry.
Reynolds could earn a payout of more than $300 million from his stake in Mint Mobile, which was sold to telecom giant T-Mobile for up to $1.35 billion on Wednesday. Reynolds acquired a stake in Mint Mobile in 2019 and joked at the time that he would pay himself $15 a month, which is roughly the price of the company’s basic cellular plan.
His stake in Mint Mobile accounts for about 25% of the company, according to Fortune Magazine. Based on the sale price, that would put Reynolds’ stake at around $340 million. Mint Mobile said it was unable to comment beyond the publicly disclosed information for the sale, while T-Mobile did not immediately return a request for comment.
Reynolds said he bought “a pretty big chunk of the company” in a CNBC interview Wednesday, though he didn’t specify the size of the investment.
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According to Forbes, Reynolds earned about $70 million in 2020 based primarily on his film and entertainment earnings. The actor makes about $20 million per film, according to the publication — a bonanza for most people, but not enough to put him on Forbes’ list of top-earning entertainers in 2022. (Top earners: the members of the rock band Genesis, with earnings of $230 million last year.)
But the Deadpool actor has branched out beyond films in recent years, investing in Aviation Gin, which garnered attention in 2019 with a viral ad satirizing a much-maligned Peloton commercial.
Aviation Gin was sold to spirits giant Diageo for up to $610 million in 2020, with Diageo saying Reynolds will retain “an ongoing stake”. Since the deal was announced, Diageo’s U.S. shares are up around 25%.
“Mint wasn’t an obvious next step after Aviation Gin. Cheap WiFi is not glamorous. Still, Mint Mobile has grown exponentially over the 3+ years,” Reynolds tweeted Wednesday after the T-Mobile deal was announced.
Reynolds is also a part owner of Wrexham AFC, a Welsh football team which he bought alongside actor Rob McElhenney in 2021 for around $2.5 million. In addition, Reynolds owns the content company Maximum Effort, which bills itself as “Movies, TV series, content, ads and cocktails for the personal amusement of Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds.”
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