George Clooney once gifted 14 of his closest friends with a hefty present: $1 million.
Longtime Clooney pal/Casamigos tequila partner Rande Gerber revealed Clooney’s generous streak in a chat with MSNBC’s Headliners.
According to Gerber, back in 2013 Clooney invited a group of male pals — nicknamed ‘The Boys’ — to his home for a meal.
“George had called me and ‘The Boys’ and said, ‘Hey, mark September 27, 2013 on your calendar. Everyone’s going to come to my house for dinner,’” recalled Gerber.
When they arrived, each of “The Boys” found a black suitcase sitting on the table in front of them.
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“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. I came to L.A., 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,’” he continued.
Then, Gerber said, Clooney told his friends: “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.’”
Inside each briefcase $1 million — in $20 bills. “Every one of us — 14 of us — got a million dollars. Every single one of us. We’re in shock. Like, what is this?” said Gerber. “He goes, ‘I know we’ve all been through some hard times, some of you are still going through it. You don’t have to worry about your kids, you don’t have to worry about, you know, school, you don’t have to worry about paying your mortgage.’”
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“The Boys,” added Gerber, were not millionaires. “One was working at a bar in Texas at the airport, trying just to support his family,” he noted. “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. And George said, ‘Not only that, I have paid everyone’s taxes so this million dollars is yours.’”
When Gerber, husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford and a successful entrepreneur in his own right, tried to refuse to offer, Clooney would not have it.
“I pull him aside and said, ‘I absolutely am not taking this million dollars,’” Gerber said. “Immediately George goes, ‘I’m just going to make one announcement. If Rande doesn’t take the million dollars, nobody gets it.’” (Gerber pointed out that he donated his million to charity.)
The date, he added, was to become even more significant a year later. “This is who George is,” said Gerber. “That was September 27th, 2013. Now September 27th, 2014, he marries Amal. Now that’s good karma right there.”
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