George Clooney had once given 14 of his friends $1 Million each in cash. While most of us are simply treated to few drinks from our friends on our birthdays, actor George Clooney once gifted his pals $1 million each in cash.
It’s long been rumoured Clooney did this extremely kind gesture, but the star has only just confirmed it for himself (kind of, anyway).
Clooney apparently went to an ‘undisclosed location’ to retrieve the $14 million in cash to gift his chums, and if anyone them didn’t re-enact that certain Wolf of Wall Street scene, I’ll be very disappointed.
Explaining his reasoning for his generosity, the Ocean’s Twelve actor, who wasn’t married and didn’t have any kids at the time, said all his friends were in his will anyway, so asked himself why he was waiting to die to give them the money.
In an recent interview with GQ, Clooney explained:
Amal and I had just met, but we weren’t dating at all. I was a single guy. All of us were aging. I was 52 or something. And most of my friends are older than me. And I thought, what I do have are these guys who’ve all, over a period of 35 years, helped me in one way or another.
I’ve slept on their couches when I was broke. They loaned me money when I was broke. They helped me when I needed help over the years. And I’ve helped them over the years.
He continued, ‘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?’
This was back in 2013 when his hit movie Gravity, also starring Sandra Bullock, was soon to be released.
Apparently the studio didn’t want to pay the actors a straight up fee, and presumed the film would be a flop so, instead of paying the likes of Clooney a salary, they gave him a percentage of the movie profits instead.
Speaking about the matter, Clooney said, ‘They thought it was gonna be a flop, and that ended up being a very good deal.
It was following the success of the film Clooney decided to give his friends the cash.
Talking about the moment he gave his pals the money the day after picking it up from an ‘undisclosed location’ in downtown Los Angeles, he said:
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. And I said, ‘How do you repay people like that?’ And I said, ‘Oh, well: How about a million bucks?’
Clooney continued, ‘The fun part about it was: That was the 27th, the 28th of September. A year later, on the 27th of September, just by happenstance, was the day I got married.’
The only confirmed ‘friend’ to have confirmed to have received the cash is former-model and business man Rande Gerber.
Maybe my friends will take a leaf out of Clooney’s book one day.
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