Is Ryan Reynolds on His Way to Becoming a Legit Billionaire?

Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

20 years ago, Ryan Reynolds was best known for being the Van Wilder in “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” and his engagement to fellow Canadian Alannis Morissette — but a lot has changed. He’s now a full-fledged movie star with his own superhero franchise, “Deadpool,” and a marriage to Blake Lively that makes him half of one of Hollywood’s most-watched couples.

It also seems like he’s on his way to becoming a billionaire, thanks to a recent investment.

Reynolds is a minority owner of Mint Mobile, the budget wireless telecom company that’s at the center of T-Mobile’s latest $1.35 billion acquisition. He’s staying on in his “creative role on behalf of Mint,” according to their press release.

“I never dreamt I’d own a wireless company and I certainly never dreamt I’d sell it to T-Mobile,” Reynolds wrote on Twitter yesterday. “Life is strange and I’m incredibly proud and grateful.”

When Reynolds invested in the budget wireless provider, he called the decision “a bit unconventional.”

Reynolds owns 25% of Mint Mobile, according to the Wall Street Journal. The publication estimates he could earn more than $300 million in cash and stock from the deal.

Mint Mobile has become known for its viraladsfeaturingReynolds — and it doesn’t appear those’ll be changing anytime soon. In a video announcing the acquisition released by Reynolds, the actor joked alongside T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert that “T-Mobile has assured me that our incredibly improvised and borderline reckless messaging strategy will also remain untouched.”

In addition to Mint Mobile, Reynolds owns stake in 5 other companies: Maximum Effort, a film production company; Wrexham AFC, Wales’ oldest football club, which he co-owns with fellow actor Rob McElhenney; 1Password, a password management software firm; Wealthsimple, a financial management company; and Aviation Gin, an alcohol brand.