George Clooney has a lot to celebrate these days. Earlier this month, the actor and his wife Amal welcomed twins into the world. Now, just a couple weeks later, Clooney welcomed $1 billion into his pocket — well, sort of. Today, Clooney confirmed that his tequila brand, Casamigos, was sold to a European beverage company called Diageo for the astonishing aforementioned price.
George Clooney launched Casamigos with real estate tycoon Mike Meldman and entertainment industry businessman Rande Gerber in 2013. According to Business Insider, Clooney and Rande, who have long been close friends, came up with the idea to create their own tequila while traveling together in Mexico. They were motivated by the desire to find a tequila that was smooth enough to drink straight and that you could drink all day without becoming hungover. Obviously, the brand has really blown up since these daydreams about the perfect tequila — now, famous folks like Kim Kardashian casually sip it by the pool, and the brand recently did a collaboration with Sugarfina — but Business Insider reports that Clooney and Rande still taste every batch before it's bottled and sold. With all Casamigos' success, it's no surprise the business partners were able to sell it for a ridiculous amount of money.
When confirming the sale today, Clooney told People, "If you asked us four years ago if we had a billion dollar company, I don't think we would have said yes." Clearly, they didn't realize what a popular brand they were creating. Clooney said that the impressive deal, "reflects Diageo's belief in our company and our belief in Diageo," and although they sold Casamigo, he and his business partners don't plan on abandoning the brand they created together. He explained, "we're not going anywhere. We'll still be very much a part of Casamigos. Starting with a shot tonight. Maybe two." Seeing as he's $1 billion richer than he was yesterday and has two brand new babies, we'd say Clooney deserves to celebrate with a couple shots.