Reba McEntire Reba’s Place | 8 entertainers who own businesses

American country singer, songwriter, and actress, Reba McEntire announces the venue of her new business: Reba’s Place Restaurant and Live Music. Reba’s Place, which will be located in Atoka, Oklahoma, will feature a bar, restaurant, and venue for live music, plus a retail store to purchase souvenirs.

From chorister in the Kiowa High School band, singing at local shows and rodeos, to becoming a renowned singer and entertainer, and now, an entrepreneur, Reba McEntire has indeed come full circle. The 66-year-old shared the news last Friday during her show at the Choctaw Grand Theater in Durant, Oklahoma.

As announced by herself and Chief Gary Batton from Choctaw Nation, come the fourth quarter of 2022, the establishment will be open for business. 

“We’re really tickled, we’re very excited about it. It’s going to have great food, family atmosphere, a bandstand in there where we can do a little pickin’ and grinnin’ and singin,’ and we’re hoping by the end of next year, around September 2022, around that sometime that we’ll be ready for serving you guys to come up and see us,” she said.

Reba expressed excitement that the bar would be pitched in Atoka, a place dear to her heart. “It’s going to be called Reba’s Place and it’s going to be in the old Masonic building. Y’all know where that is if you’ve been to Atoka,” the singer explained. Speaking further about it on her Instagram, McEntire explained that the business is formed in collaboration with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Atoka City. More detailed information is available on the official website, Rebasplace.com.

Entertainers in business

To borrow the parlance of the West African Yoruba people, “there are several roads that lead to the market.” Entertainers have over the years proven there is more to them than just their art and showmanship, flexing their business acumen by establishing viable ventures. In fact, many of them do so well at it that entertainment takes a backseat. A fine example is the one whose name won’t be mentioned but has had fans clamoring for just a single music track for the longest time. It is worthy of note that fame is an advantage that can always be leveraged on, and it hardly fails those who recognize this and put it to use.

As Reba McEntire joins this league of extraordinary ladies and gentlemen, we figured it is a perfect time to look at a few entertainers who have created successful business ventures. In no particular order, here is a list of 8 celebrity entrepreneurs.

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1. Oprah Winfrey

Who better to start a list like this with than Oprah herself! With a net worth of $3 billion, she is the first African-American woman billionaire. The “media mogul,” as the media like to call her, launched Harpo Productions, Inc. in 1986. She followed that up by creating her television network, OWN. She became a millionaire in the 1980s after her talk show received national syndication. It has been an upward climb for her and her entertainment business ever since. To put in perspective, the extent of reverence Oprah has, there has been a course taught at the University of Illinois focusing on Winfrey’s business acumen, namely: “History 298: Oprah Winfrey, the Tycoon”.

2. Jay-Z

According to Forbes, Jay-Z boasts a net worth of over $1 billion in 2021. His numerous business ventures cut across entertainment, sport, clothing, tech, and so on. In 1999, he founded the clothing retailer Rocawear, and in 2003, he founded the luxury sports bar chain 40/40 Club. Arguably the most successful of his business endeavors is the record label Roc Nation, which was founded in 2008. In 2015, he acquired the tech company Aspiro and took charge of their media streaming service Tidal, and in 2020, he launched Monogram, a line of cannabis products.

3. Rihanna

 

Fans may be a tad dissatisfied by the complete abandonment their fav has meted on them and music as a whole, but it doesn’t stop them from patronizing her billion-dollar business. From joining a list of Forbes top ten highest-paid entertainers almost a decade ago to being named on the list of richest self-made women in 2020, Robyn Fenty has conquered the world. It is almost unbelievable that Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Fenty fashion line were only just launched in 2017 and 2019. The Savage X Fenty lingerie and Fenty Skin, a skincare brand launched in 2018 and 2020, are also part of what has made Rihanna’s business empire the success it has grown to be.

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4. Dr. Dre

It is almost too divine. A music producer and audio engineer who has made it big in the music industry turns around and makes it a business. Dr. Dre co-founded Beats Electronics and launched his first brand of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre, in 2008, and by 2014, he was selling for a mouthwatering $3 billion to the tech giant, Apple. Dr. Dre became the richest man in hip-hop, surpassing the likes of Diddy and Jay-Z.

5. Kim Kardashian

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star and model first tried her hands at a business in 2014 when she launched her self named mobile game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. It was an instant success and made almost $2 million in less than a week. In 2017, Kim took a step further and launched her beauty and fragrance brands, KKW Beauty & KKW Fragrance. There is no gainsaying how successful the KKW Beauty brand has been, and the numbers suggest it is now worth over a billion dollars. The Skims shapewear, which was launched in 2019, also saw immediate success, raking in over $2 million within 2 minutes.

6. P.Diddy

When one looks at the array of businesses Sean Combs have established, you wonder which exactly was his calling; music or entrepreneurship? Now worth an estimated $900,000 million, Diddy started out in business with his music outfit, Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. In 1998, he started a clothing line, Sean John, which you will admit was quite the sensation back in the day. The clothing line was nominated for Menswear Designer of the Year in 2000 and 2004, winning the latter. Combs added a men’s perfume line to the brand in 2008 and launched the GIRLS collection in 2016.

He also ran a restaurant business for years before closing them down in 2007 and 2012. He co-developed the CIROC brand in 2017 for a 50% share in profit. Diddy also has a major equity stake in Revolt TV, a television network, and a film production branch. He owns majority shares in Aquahydrate, a calorie-free beverage for athletes, and is a major investor in PlayVS, which provides an infrastructure for competitive gaming in US high schools.

7. Jessica Alba

An entrepreneur with a difference. Jessica Alba co-founded The Honest Company, an eco-friendly baby product brand established to counter harsh chemicals and toxic cleaning supplies offered by other brands. Her own experience as a mother contributed to the idea. The company has been quite successful and was valued at US$1 billion as of 2014. In October 2015, Alba launched a collection of skincare and beauty products called Honest Beauty.

8. Simon Cowell

 

You may know him as the one constant face on America’s Got Talent, but that is just one of Cowell’s successful endeavors. Simon is the founder of Syco Entertainment, which produced the famous competition show X-Factor. He later launched the “Got Talent” franchise, which consists of Britain’s Got Talent, America’s Got Talent, and Got Talent. In 2014, it was named the world’s most successful reality TV format by Guinness World Records, with spin-offs in over 68 countries. Alongside Sony Music Entertainment, he owned 50% of the production company, but as recently reported, he has bought out Sony’s shares.

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