The celebrity money desk Who's really writing the cheques
●SERENA WILLIAMS16 UNICORNS BACKED●REESE WITHERSPOON$900M MEDIA EXIT●OPRAH WINFREY$43M WEIGHT WATCHERS●GWYNETH PALTROW$250M GOOP VALUATION●RIHANNA$1B SAVAGE X FENTY●JESSICA ALBAHONEST CO. · NASDAQ IPO●HALLE BERRYBACKS WOMEN'S HEALTH●BEYONCÉLEMON PERFECT BACKER●JENNIFER LOPEZHIMS & HERS BACKER●KIM KARDASHIANSKKY PARTNERS PE FUND●SELENA GOMEZGOPUFF STRATEGIC PARTNER●PRIYANKA CHOPRABUMBLE EARLY BACKER●DEEPIKA PADUKONEKA ENTERPRISES INVESTOR●SHAKIRAISIMA HAIRCARE FOUNDER●NATALIE PORTMANANGEL CITY CO-FOUNDER●KERRY WASHINGTONANGEL INVESTOR●MINDY KALINGANGEL INVESTOR●EVA LONGORIACASA DEL SOL CO-FOUNDER●CAMERON DIAZAVALINE CO-FOUNDER●DREW BARRYMOREFLOWER BEAUTY FOUNDER●KATE HUDSONFABLETICS CO-FOUNDER●BLAKE LIVELYBETTY BUZZ FOUNDER●VENUS WILLIAMSELEVEN FOUNDER●NAOMI OSAKAHANA KUMA CO-FOUNDER●MARIA SHARAPOVAPROLIFIC WELLNESS ANGEL●TYRA BANKSFIERCE CAPITAL FOUNDER●KARLIE KLOSSBEDFORD MEDIA FOUNDER●ISSA RAETOPICALS & HILLTOP BACKER●KATY PERRYDE SOI CO-FOUNDER●KYLIE JENNER$1.2B KYLIE COSMETICS●BETHENNY FRANKELSKINNYGIRL FOUNDER●MELINDA FRENCH GATESPIVOTAL VENTURES●CATHIE WOODARK INVEST CEO●MELLODY HOBSONARIEL INVESTMENTS CO-CEO●KIRSTEN GREENFORERUNNER VENTURES●SALLIE KRAWCHECKELLEVEST CEO●MARY MEEKERBOND CAPITAL FOUNDER●ARLAN HAMILTONBACKSTAGE CAPITAL●BARBARA CORCORANSHARK TANK INVESTOR●SHERYL SANDBERGEX-META COO●SARA BLAKELYFOUNDER OF SPANX●KATHY XUCAPITAL TODAY FOUNDER●JENNY LEEGRANITE ASIA PARTNER●SOLINA CHAUHORIZONS VENTURES●KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAWBIOCON FOUNDER●FALGUNI NAYARNYKAA FOUNDER●MARÍA ASUNCIÓN ARAMBURUZABALATRESALIA CAPITAL●OLIVIA WILDE$500K–$2M CHEQUES●EMMA WATSON2 DOCUMENTED DEALS●PARIS HILTON20+ STARTUP BETS●THE FOSTER SISTERSBUMBLE AND MIRROR EARLY●GRACE BEVERLEY£6.2M IN TALA'S FIRST YEAR●AILEEN LEECOINED "UNICORN"●ANN MIURA-KOSEED INVESTOR IN LYFT●EMMA GREDE8% OF SKIMS●NAMITA THAPAR100+ COMPANIES BACKED●SERENA WILLIAMS16 UNICORNS BACKED●REESE WITHERSPOON$900M MEDIA EXIT●OPRAH WINFREY$43M WEIGHT WATCHERS●GWYNETH PALTROW$250M GOOP VALUATION●RIHANNA$1B SAVAGE X FENTY●JESSICA ALBAHONEST CO. · NASDAQ IPO●HALLE BERRYBACKS WOMEN'S HEALTH●BEYONCÉLEMON PERFECT BACKER●JENNIFER LOPEZHIMS & HERS BACKER●KIM KARDASHIANSKKY PARTNERS PE FUND●SELENA GOMEZGOPUFF STRATEGIC PARTNER●PRIYANKA CHOPRABUMBLE EARLY BACKER●DEEPIKA PADUKONEKA ENTERPRISES INVESTOR●SHAKIRAISIMA HAIRCARE FOUNDER●NATALIE PORTMANANGEL CITY CO-FOUNDER●KERRY WASHINGTONANGEL INVESTOR●MINDY KALINGANGEL INVESTOR●EVA LONGORIACASA DEL SOL CO-FOUNDER●CAMERON DIAZAVALINE CO-FOUNDER●DREW BARRYMOREFLOWER BEAUTY FOUNDER●KATE HUDSONFABLETICS CO-FOUNDER●BLAKE LIVELYBETTY BUZZ FOUNDER●VENUS WILLIAMSELEVEN FOUNDER●NAOMI OSAKAHANA KUMA CO-FOUNDER●MARIA SHARAPOVAPROLIFIC WELLNESS ANGEL●TYRA BANKSFIERCE CAPITAL FOUNDER●KARLIE KLOSSBEDFORD MEDIA FOUNDER●ISSA RAETOPICALS & HILLTOP BACKER●KATY PERRYDE SOI CO-FOUNDER●KYLIE JENNER$1.2B KYLIE COSMETICS●BETHENNY FRANKELSKINNYGIRL FOUNDER●MELINDA FRENCH GATESPIVOTAL VENTURES●CATHIE WOODARK INVEST CEO●MELLODY HOBSONARIEL INVESTMENTS CO-CEO●KIRSTEN GREENFORERUNNER VENTURES●SALLIE KRAWCHECKELLEVEST CEO●MARY MEEKERBOND CAPITAL FOUNDER●ARLAN HAMILTONBACKSTAGE CAPITAL●BARBARA CORCORANSHARK TANK INVESTOR●SHERYL SANDBERGEX-META COO●SARA BLAKELYFOUNDER OF SPANX●KATHY XUCAPITAL TODAY FOUNDER●JENNY LEEGRANITE ASIA PARTNER●SOLINA CHAUHORIZONS VENTURES●KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAWBIOCON FOUNDER●FALGUNI NAYARNYKAA FOUNDER●MARÍA ASUNCIÓN ARAMBURUZABALATRESALIA CAPITAL●OLIVIA WILDE$500K–$2M CHEQUES●EMMA WATSON2 DOCUMENTED DEALS●PARIS HILTON20+ STARTUP BETS●THE FOSTER SISTERSBUMBLE AND MIRROR EARLY●GRACE BEVERLEY£6.2M IN TALA'S FIRST YEAR●AILEEN LEECOINED "UNICORN"●ANN MIURA-KOSEED INVESTOR IN LYFT●EMMA GREDE8% OF SKIMS●NAMITA THAPAR100+ COMPANIES BACKED
Music
Katy Perry
Perry angel-invests in food-tech, consumer-packaged-goods and wellness startups, frequently alongside other celebrities. Separately she co-founded the non-alcoholic drinks brand De Soi and is part of the ownership group of Bragg Live Foods.
$225M reported (September 2023)Music catalogue sale to Litmus Music
$4M led by Willow Growth (July 2022)De Soi seed round
~$13MDe Soi total raised
5,500+ doors (March 2025); reported 6,000+ by January 2025De Soi retail footprint
Launched 2017; Perry became sole owner in 2022Katy Perry Collections
$340M (Forbes, September 2023)Net worth after the catalogue sale
Watch
Katy Perry in her own words
Katy Perry on the non-alcoholic De Soi brand · via Upfront Ventures
The thesis
How Katy Perry invests
Perry's business record splits cleanly in two. She founded and owns operating companies — the non-alcoholic aperitif brand De Soi, the footwear line Katy Perry Collections she bought outright when its corporate parent went bankrupt, and the Capitol imprint Unsub Records — and separately writes small angel cheques into consumer and food-tech rounds, usually as one name on a long celebrity list: Impossible Foods, Apeel Sciences, Sandbox VR, Shef, Audius. The angel side is real but thin and passive; not one of those cheques has a disclosed amount, and none has produced a documented exit. Her largest single documented transaction is not a startup at all but the 2023 sale of her music catalogue rights to Carlyle-backed Litmus Music, reported at $225 million. Aggregator profiles credit her with an early stake in Core Hydration ahead of its $525 million sale to Keurig Dr Pepper; that claim appears nowhere in primary reporting and is left out here.
I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company. I'm an entrepreneur. I don't want to shy away from it. I actually want to kind of grab it by its balls.
I was faced with the choice of fading away into obscurity with this line that I have worked so hard on for five years and that is just kind of coming out of its infancy and finding its strengths. Or just leveling up.
There used to be a lot more gatekeepers. Now, if you have an idea and some capital and it's a good idea and you know how to sell it, you have a real shot.
Sparkling non-alcoholic aperitifs made with botanicals and adaptogens such as reishi mushroom and L-theanine, sold in bottles and 8oz cans.
When
Co-founded with master distiller Morgan McLachlan and launched in January 2022; raised a $4 million seed round led by Willow Growth with Creative Artists Agency participating, announced July 2022.
Why
Perry and McLachlan met in early 2020 while both pregnant and wanted an adult drinking ritual without the alcohol. Perry has described the brand as coming out of a need in her own life rather than a licensing opportunity.
Status
Operating under CEO Scout Brisson, with roughly $13 million raised in total and distribution past 5,500 US retail doors including Target, Sprouts, Publix and Total Wine. The registered Cashmere Fund disclosed a $200,000 SAFE in De Soi, Inc. acquired 19 July 2024 and still carried at cost as of 31 March 2025.
Footwear brand of novelty and character-driven shoes, priced roughly $39 to $129.
When
Launched February 2017 as a partnership with Global Brands Group. When Global Brands Group filed for bankruptcy in 2021, Perry bought the brand assets — label, remaining inventory and key staff — and became sole owner, relaunching with the spring-summer 2022 collection.
Why
Her account of the decision is that the alternative was letting a five-year-old brand disappear with its parent, so she bought it and took the CEO seat herself.
Status
Operating and independently owned. Sold direct-to-consumer plus through Nordstrom, Macy's, Belk, Zappos, Amazon, QVC and HSN; Allison Bennett took over as president in 2024 with a push into Mexico and Asia.
Music rights company launched in 2022 and backed by private-equity firm Carlyle.
When
In September 2023 Perry sold her stakes in the master recording royalties and publishing rights to five studio albums released via Capitol between 2008 and 2020: One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, Prism, Witness and Smile.
Why
A cash-out of back-catalogue income at the top of the catalogue-acquisition cycle, with Litmus co-founder Dan McCarroll a former president of her label Capitol Records.
Status
Completed. The price was reported at $225 million and has been repeated across trade press, but was not confirmed by Perry or disclosed as a figure in the announcement. Forbes put her net worth at $340 million immediately afterwards, up from below $200 million before the sale.
Plant-based meat company behind the Impossible Burger.
When
One of fifteen named individual investors in the $300 million Series E announced May 2019, led by Temasek and Horizons Ventures; her amount was not disclosed.
Why
She has said she likes knowing about new innovations and was interested in alternative meats.
Status
The round valued Impossible Foods at about $2 billion; CNBC reported later that year that the company was seeking to more than double it. Still private.
Food-tech company making a plant-derived edible coating that slows water loss and oxidation in fresh produce.
When
Participated alongside Oprah Winfrey in the $250 million round announced May 2020, led by Singapore's GIC with Viking Global, Upfront Ventures, Tao Capital and Rock Creek; her amount was not disclosed.
Why
A food-waste bet in a category she already backed through Impossible Foods and Bragg.
Status
The round took Apeel past a $1 billion valuation and its total raised to about $360 million. Still private.
Santa Barbara health-food company, best known as a leading producer of apple cider vinegar, founded in 1912.
When
Joined the investor group that acquired Bragg in a deal closing March 2019 and announced that June, alongside Swander Pace Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group and Pressed Juicery founder Hayden Slater. She invested with Orlando Bloom; the stake size was not disclosed.
Why
Her stated reason was personal rather than financial: "Patricia has been part of my family forever, even giving me my first guitar. My mother introduced me to Bragg products, and it's been a staple since my childhood in Santa Barbara."
Status
Patricia Bragg stayed on as CEO after the acquisition. Private; no subsequent disclosure of Perry's position.
Location-based virtual reality venues using full-body motion tracking and haptic vests.
When
One of the individual backers in the $11 million round announced October 2019, led by David Sacks at Craft Ventures and the Andreessen Horowitz Cultural Leadership Fund, alongside Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, Orlando Bloom, Kevin Durant and Michael Ovitz; her amount was not disclosed.
Why
The company's pitch to celebrity backers was future content collaboration — CEO Steve Zhao said conversations are easier when the talent is also an investor.
Status
The round took Sandbox VR's 2019 total to about $83 million, on top of a $68 million Series A earlier that year. Still private.
Marketplace connecting food-safety-certified home cooks with buyers in their own communities; the company says 85% of its cooks are women and 80% people of colour.
When
Named as an individual investor in the $20 million Series A announced June 2021, led by Andreessen Horowitz with Craft Ventures, M13 and Y Combinator. Listed again as an existing investor when Shef announced a $73.5 million Series B in March 2023. Her amount was not disclosed in either round.
Why
Consistent with the rest of her angel activity, which sits almost entirely in food and consumer.
Blockchain-based decentralised music streaming platform, roughly six million users at the time of the round.
When
Part of the $5 million strategic round announced September 2021 with Nas, Lil Nas X, The Chainsmokers, Jason Derulo and former Sony/ATV chief Martin Bandier; her amount was not disclosed.
Why
An artist-side bet on a platform pitching direct monetisation and an immutable ownership record for uploaded music.
Status
Private. Reporting at the time did not specify whether the strategic investments were equity or token-based.
Founded by Perry in 2014 as Metamorphosis Music and renamed Unsub Records in 2016. It operates as an imprint of Capitol Records under Universal Music Group rather than as an independent company.
Why
Announcing the plan in 2012 she said she wanted to avoid the things that "take away any fighting chance for an artist to have financial success."
Status
Low activity. Three signed artists — Ferras, Cyn and Michael J. Woodard — with releases spanning 2014 to 2023.
Her individual investment amounts in Impossible Foods and Apeel are not disclosed. A frequently-cited early stake in Core Hydration appears only in aggregator profiles and could not be confirmed, so it is omitted.
Katy Perry has backed De Soi, Katy Perry Collections, Litmus Music (catalogue sale), Impossible Foods, and 6 more. Each one is listed on this page with what the company does and a link to named reporting.
How much has Katy Perry invested?
Cheque sizes are almost never disclosed, and Katy Perry's are mostly private. Where a round size, stake or valuation has been reported we cite the source; otherwise we flag it as undisclosed rather than guess.
De Soi co-founder