Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Celebrities Who Keep Their Businesses Within The Family
Family is everything. For some celebrities, that applies to business dealings as well and we love to see it.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: (L-R) Ashanti and Tina Douglas attend the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for Ashanti on April 07, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
It’s said that mixing business and family can be difficult, but many celebs think differently. As evidenced by the litany of relatives managing some of our brightest stars, blood really is thicker than water in show business.
This sentiment isn’t just reserved for Hollywood.
There are 5.5 million family businesses in the United States according to a 2022 report compiled by the Step Project Global Consortium and KPMG. The data states that family owned businesses contribute 57% of the GDP and employ 63% of the workforce (Family Enterprise USA, 2011). This translates to 98 million employees working within family founded and led businesses, and are responsible for 78% of all new job creation (Astrachan and Schanker, (2003) Family Business Review 16(3) 211-219).
Clearly, working with relatives is a proven success formula, and we’re happy to take a look at the stars who figured it out.
01
Todd Tucker, Aunt Bertha, Aunt Nora, Mama Joyce, and Kandi Burruss
Over the last three decades, Kandi Burruss has built a storied career in entertainment but the mogul’s biggest feat yet is sharing her family with the world, and we love them. In 2016, Kandi and her husband Todd Tucker launched a restaurant The Old Lady Gang (OLG) had the great idea of sharing some of the delicious down home Southern recipes that Kandi was raised on as a child and has come to love as an adult, according the eatery’s website.
The brand is now wildly popular and has expanded into a franchise across multiple locations in the state of Georgia.
02
Ashanti and her mom Tina Douglas
Ashanti has been a star since her teens, and it’s in large part to her business savvy momager Tina Douglas. She’s successfully managed her daughter’s career for more than two decades.
03
Christina Milian and mother Carmen Milian
Christina Milian has always openly spoken about the closeness of her family, particularly the beautiful relationship she has with her mom, Carmen Milian. Since the beginning of the singer/actress’s career, her mom has been in lock step with her moves as manager and hasn’t looked back since.
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04
Megan Thee Stallion and mother Holly Thomas
Megan Thee Stallion’s star power rose a few years ago, and her mother/manager Holly Thomas was at her side every step of the way. Unfortunately, Thomas passed away in March 2019 as her daughter’s career reached a fever pitch. but the WAP rapper said she honors her memory with every feat she achieves.
05
Sonja Norwood, Brandy, Ray J and Willie Norwood
Sonja Norwood has managed her famous children’s career since the beginning and still does. It’s safe to say she knows what she’s doing.
06
Romeo Miller and father Percy ‘Master P’ Miller
Master P cemented himself as hip hop legend and laid plans to do the same for his son Romeo as the manager of his rap career. Now, years later they are still working together and have founded multiple companies alongside one another.
07
Cordell Broadus and father Snoop Dogg
The two recently entered the metaverse together, MOBLAND, a digital weed farm.
“NFT 1.0 is about individual character and item, NFT 2.0 is about land and real estate, NFT 3.0 is about business and utility on top of the land and real estate,” said Roy Liu, Co-founder of MOBLAND, per a press release. “We are super pumped to pioneer with the legendary Snoop Dogg by bringing digital cannabis and mass adoption to the metaverse and GameFi 2.0. We are looking for more ways to give back to the cannabis community.”
ESSENCE Festival Of Culture's $346M Impact Shows Black Women Mean Business
The festival's 30th anniversary celebration broke economic records across the city.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 6: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage for the Global Black Economic Forum during the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Harris was at the event to participate in a conversation with Essence Magazine President and CEO Caroline A. Wanga. (Photo by Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
The numbers are in: ESSENCE Festival Of Culture 2024 generated $346.3 million for the New Orleans economy during its landmark 30th anniversary celebration.
Our annual homecoming brought record-breaking crowds to the city, with Black women leading an unprecedented economic surge in the Big Easy. Because when we do it, we do it right. Okay?!
A new economic impact study from Dillard University researchers shows that our community means business, and it’s shown by the increase in nearly $30 million from the previous year. Festival attendees spent an average of $3,135 during their time in New Orleans, dropping $847 per day on everything from luxury hotel stays to Black-owned restaurants to some well-deserved retail therapy. That spending created a wave of opportunity across the city, supporting 2,642 jobs and generating $113.7 million in income for local workers.
Hotel revenue saw particularly dramatic gains. During ESSENCE Festival week, New Orleans hotels outperformed every other major U.S. market, with occupancy rates climbing 15.5% compared to the previous year. Revenue per available room also jumped an impressive 56.1%, while average daily room rates increased by 35.1%.
And we were everywhere throughout the city during that week. The festival’s impact reached far beyond the tourist hotspots. Restaurants, bars, transportation services, and retail stores all felt the love from our ESSies, with the study tracking spending across twelve different categories, from flights to food to cultural attractions.
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When they say men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t — this is what they mean. Because today, ESSENCE Festival Of Culture stands as one of the most impactful cultural events in America.
And if there’s one thing our audience is going to do, it’s show up ready to invest in the full ESSENCE experience. The data confirms what we already knew – Black women (82% of attendees) were the driving force behind this economic powerhouse. Most visitors (84%) turned their festival weekend into an extended stay, with three-quarters choosing hotels and others opting for short-term rentals or staying with family. The average attendee was 44 years old and made New Orleans home for nearly four days.
Direct spending of $198 million generated another $148 million in economic impact as those dollars circulated through the local economy. The festival also contributed nearly $50 million in tax revenue across federal, state, and local governments.
From the couldn’t-miss performances at Caesars Superdome to the empowering conversations at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, this year’s expanded footprint spread Black dollars throughout downtown New Orleans. Headline performances kept the Superdome packed out all weekend, while free daily empowerment seminars featuring speakers like Vice President Kamala Harris (and at the time, presidential hopeful) reminded us why this is truly a party with a purpose.
Just like everything, there’s still room to grow. About $70 million in potential economic activity left the region through imported goods and services. That’s an opportunity for local businesses, particularly Black-owned enterprises, to capture more festival-related spending in the years ahead. But grow, indeed we will.
This success builds on nearly three decades of growth, paused only by Hurricane Katrina in 2006 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. As ESSENCE Festival Of Culture enters its nearly fourth decade, its impact on New Orleans will only continue to expand, creating opportunities that extend far beyond the festival weekend. And that’s on the 92%.
