Celebrity Net Worth: Shilpa Shetty invests in farm-to-fork start-up’s $4.5m funding round

Indian actress and businesswoman Shilpa Shetty has invested an undisclosed amount in farm-to-fork start-up KisanKonnect, which raised $4.5 million in its Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Mistry Ventures.

Founded in 2020 by Vivek Nirmal and Nidhi Nirmal, KisanKonnect sources food directly from its network of farmers through its village-level collection centres. It delivers the produce to consumers with no interference from middlemen.

The start-up plans to use the fresh capital to enhance its technology infrastructure, scale operations and expand its presence in key urban markets. A significant portion of the funds will be allocated towards leveraging artificial intelligence to improve farm sourcing and supply chain efficiency, the company said.

The latest funding follows KisanKonnect’s pre-Series A round of $3.7 million last year, led by the climate-focused VC fund Green Frontier Capital.

Shetty, 49, has a net worth of $15.5 million, according to estimates by Indian daily Financial Express.

She has been a Bollywood actor for more than 30 years since her acting debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the 1993 thriller Baazigar. She has since appeared in nearly 50 Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films.

Shetty shot to international fame after winning the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother reality series in 2007. She has also appeared on and judged several television competitions.

However, it is income earned outside entertainment that accounts for a significant portion of her net worth. She is a serial angel investor in the direct-to-consumer space.

With her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, she was an investor in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals between 2009 and 2015. They held an 11.7 per cent stake.

The couple also own properties in Mumbai and the UK. Their home in Surrey, in southern England, cost £5 million when they bought it in 2009, according to India Today magazine.

LeBron James

Basketball player LeBron James has joined E1, the all-electric race boat championship, as a team owner. He owns the platform’s new team, Team AlUla Championed by LeBron James.

James joins a roster of fellow sports legends at E1 that includes former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, tennis champion Rafael Nadal, footballer Didier Drogba and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Other investors include Hollywood actor Will Smith, international DJ Steve Aoki, businessman Marcelo Claure, and Grammy Award-winning musician Marc Anthony.

The new E1 team adds to James’ investment portfolio across sport and entertainment, which includes stakes in Fenway Sports Group, Beats by Dre, PGA Tour Enterprises and English football club Liverpool.

“As a lifelong fan of sports and competition, the opportunity to own an E1 team that represents such a high level of innovation in sports is incredibly exciting,” the LA Lakers star, 40, said.

“E1 is a new type of global competition that’s revolutionising water racing and I’m proud to be at the forefront of its expansion in season two.”

In 2021, James became the first active NBA player to join the elite billionaire’s club, with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. He currently has a net worth of $800 million, according to wealth tracker Celebrity Net Worth.

He is the third-highest-paid player in the NBA in terms of salary alone. His annual base salary is $52 million, the website estimated.

He is a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team through his partnership with Fenway Sports Group.

James has been a minority owner of English Premier League football team Liverpool since 2011. His 2 per cent stake, which he purchased for $6.2 million, is now estimated to be about $49.2 million, with KPMG evaluating the club at $2.6 billion.

He extended his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023, in a deal worth $97.1 million over two years.

He is a part owner of US baseball team Boston Red Sox, American football team New England Patriots and Italian football club AC Milan.

Outside of sport, James is one of the highest-earning celebrities globally. He earns more than $60 million to $90 million per year in endorsements and has a $1 billion lifetime contract with Nike.

Ryan Reynolds

Colombian football team Club Deportivo Seguros La Equidad has been acquired by a US investment group that includes actor-turned sports investors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Bloomberg reported on January 16.

Other investors include actress Eva Longoria, baseball pitcher Justin Verlander and his wife, actress Kate Upton. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Reynolds and McElhenney became prominent football owners after acquiring Wrexham, the oldest football club in Wales, in 2021.

The Deadpool actor and McElhenney also bought a minority interest in Club Necaxa, a Mexican football team.

Reynolds, 48, has a net worth of $350 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The vast majority of the Canadian-American actor’s net worth has come from his entrepreneurial endeavours, specifically thanks to the sales of the Aviation American beverage brand and prepaid budget wireless provider Mint Mobile, the website said.

In 2023, he sold his stake in Mint Mobile to telecoms operator T-Mobile US as part of a larger cash-and-stock deal.

In 2018, Reynolds founded Maximum Effort, a film production company and digital marketing agency with George Dewey.

Reynolds has also invested in the Renault-owned Alpine Formula One team through Maximum Effort. In 2023, he and McElhenney joined a group of investors who took a 24 per cent equity stake in the F1 team.

A significant portion of his wealth also comes from his roles as a leading actor.

After the success of the Deadpool franchise, Reynolds is in the category of actors who can earn $20 million upfront to star in a movie, Celebrity Net Worth estimates.