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Growing up in an athletic household, Dwayne Johnson grew up hoping to join the NFL. As a promising athlete, he received football scholarships from many universities and chose the University of Miami. Several injuries held him back from playing games, and he didn’t receive an offer from the NFL. He played in the Canadian Football League, but after being cut during the early stages, Johnson followed in his father’s footsteps of becoming a professional wrestler. After playing in the WWE for almost a decade, he focused on his acting career in 2004. Seeing his growing stardom in Hollywood, Johnson created a business empire and made multiple investments over the years.
From his production company that makes millions from his box office earnings to buying a minor football league to give young football players that he never got, Dwayne Johnson is making profits one business at a time. Let’s look at the various business ventures of the WWE legend.
Seven Bucks Productions
Founded in 2012 alongside his business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, Seven Bucks Production has been the leading powerhouse that has released all of Johnson’s movies and television releases. According to Forbes, during the most challenging moment in Johnson’s life, he only had $7 in his wallet, which was why he named the company after the same. Some popular projects released under the Seven Bucks Productions banner include Red Notice, Young Rock, Jungle Cruise, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Jungle Cruise, Ballers, and Black Adam.
Athleticon
Many fan conventions worldwide, including Comic-Con for movie lovers and Lollapalooza for music fans. Still, there wasn’t a fitness convention until Dwayne Johnson and Danny Garcia decided to plan one. The Athleticon convention was announced in 2020, which would host events such as live performances, panels, and competitions, but the plans were put on hold due to the pandemic. As Johnson and his team plan their other ventures, Athleticon will soon meet people.
Teramana Tequila
Teramana Tequila was a lifelong dream of Dwayne Johnson that he achieved with the brand’s launch in late 2020. During the initial months, Teramana sold two tequilas: Blanco and Reposado. The company was expected to sell 300,000 cases after its launch, as noted by HypeBeast. Teramana surpassed all expectations and, within two years, has become the highest-selling spirits drink. His tequila company has rounded a valuation of a whopping $3.5 billion.
Acorns
The smallest amount of investments can turn into good figures if the money is put into something that offers returns. Dwayne Johnson partnered with the micro-investment application Acorns in 2020 to help people realize the same. As the world has shifted toward digitization, Johnson made an intelligent move to invest in a company that would offer returns with the growing numbers of users on Acorns.
Project Rock
In 2018, Dwayne Johnson launched Project Rock under the label of Under Armour to release a signature sneaker collection. Thirty minutes after the launch of Project Rock 1, all the sneakers were sold out. Under Armour and Johnson have continued collaborating on projects and launched Project Rock x UFC BSR 2 in 2022. The training shoes are named after The Rock’s iconic phrase Blood, Sweat, and Respect.
ZOA Energy
Molson Coors Beverage is best known as a beer company, but the brand wanted to expand beyond its recognition. They teamed up with Johnson’s team to release the energy drink ZOA. As mentioned by CNBC, Johnson is constantly sharing photos of himself enjoying a ZOA drink, and his promotions have helped boost sales. The energy drinks are sold at 26,000 locations with 100,000 distribution points.
Salt and Straw
The world’s largest small-batch ice cream company, Salt And Straw, brought Dwayne Johnson on board in 2021 to release an exclusive array of ice cream flavors during the holidays. Johnson, who has dubbed himself Dwanta Clause, created five flavors inspired by his cheat meals often seen on social media. The $65-a-pint sale strategy worked wonders as The Rock was brought on board again for the 2022 edition.
XFL
Football minor league XFL was first launched in 2001 under the ownership of Vince McMahon but was shut down soon after. In 2018, McMahon rebooted the league but filed for bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson and his team purchased XFL for $15 million and began working on developing the structure of the game. The Rock established a deal with the NFL and will likely begin training camps in 2023, as stated by Variety.
Additionally, Dwayne Johnson earns a sizable revenue from his YouTube channel as it garners millions of viewers' views. Over the last five years, The Rock has consistently made investments in potential startups that get a boost in sales as he shares stories about the ventures with his 352 million followers on Instagram.