Some of you may have already heard the hearsay that superstar George Clooney gifted 14 of his best friends $1 million each in cash.
Today, let’s find out the truth.
Rande Gerber, Clooney’s close friend as well as Casamigos business partner, revealed the truth in 2017 on MSNBC’s “Headliners.” Also, Clooney himself finally talked about it in his interview with GQ in 2020.
“Amal and I had just met, but we weren’t dating at all,” the actor recalled. “I was a single guy. All of us were aging. I was 52 or something. And most of my friends are older than me.”
He thought that despite being single at that age, he felt lucky to have lived a life with loyal best friends. He mentioned that these guys had given him a hand for the past 35 years whenever he needed one.
The heartthrob said, “They helped me when I needed help over the years. And I’ve helped them over the years. We’re all good friends.”
“And I thought, you know, without them I don’t have any of this. And we’re all really close, and I just thought basically if I get hit by a bus, they’re all in the will. So why the f**ck am I waiting to get hit by a bus?” he fondly shared.
During that time, his “Gravity” movie with the renowned actress Sandra Bullock had just become a hit. He had just been paid millions of dollars for it. It was then that he decided that he wanted to share it with his friends instead of saving them.
The actor came up with a plan inspired by “Ocean’s Eleven.”
In a van with “Florist” painted on one side, Clooney picked up a whopping $14 million in cash from a Los Angeles warehouse that was known to have “giant pallets” of money.
He then proceeded to stuff $1 million each into 14 Tumi suitcases.
Then, he called up his best friends who he calls “The Boys” to invite them for dinner the very next day.
“And I just held up a map and I just pointed to all the places I got to go in the world and all the things I’ve gotten to see because of them,” the actor narrated.
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Now, let’s see what Gerber remembers of the beautiful memory.
“George begins to say, ‘Listen, I want you guys to know how much you’ve meant to me and how much you mean to me in my life,” he recalled.
“I came to LA, I slept on your couch. I’m so fortunate in my life to have all of you and I couldn’t be where I am today without all of you. So, it was really important to me that while we’re still all here together that I give back. So I want you all to open your suitcases,” Clooney continued as narrated by Gerber.
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When the suitcases were opened, everyone was in utter shock. To top that off, the actor said that taxes on them had already been paid. What an amazing guy.
“One was working at a bar in Texas at the airport, trying just to support his family,” Gerber said. “Rides a bicycle to work every day. I mean, these are guys that took care of George and now he’s giving it all back.”
Gerber, as a successful businessman himself, attempted to return the money.
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However, Clooney refused and said, “I’m just going to make one announcement. If Rande doesn’t take the million dollars, nobody gets their money.” So instead, Gerber gave all of it to charity.
Then, just about a year later, the universe conspired to give back to the Hollywood superstar. He married human rights lawyer Amal Clooney on September 27, 2014.
Good things find their way to good people indeed. The highest salute to George Clooney for his beautiful heart!
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