Does Ryan Reynolds own Mint Mobile?

June 21, 2024

When a celebrity reaches a certain level of fame, it’s natural for them to branch out into other things. Many celebrities start companies in fields unrelated to their original industry — for instance, Kim Kardashian has her beauty companies, Kristen Bell makes plant-based baby products, and Dan Aykroyd has his vodka. Due to his starring roles in all of their commercials, many people wonder if Ryan Reynolds owns Mint Mobile, the mobile telecoms company that offers mobile plans from $15 a month.

Is Mint Mobile owned by Ryan Reynolds?

Mint Mobile didn’t start life as Mint Mobile. In 2015, company Ultra Mobile formed a subsidiary company called Mint SIM. The two key people behind this were David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim, with the former being the founder of Ultra Mobile.

Like Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile was known for selling low-cost prepaid phone plans designed for unlocked phones. This set them apart from most companies that sold long-term contracts and used locked phones. It was decided to break Mint SIM away from Ultra Mobile, and this was done in 2019.

According to Glickman, this spin-off was due to Reynolds, as both Reynolds and Glickman had served on The Michael J. Fox Foundation board of directors. Talking to magazine Inc, Glickman said:

“We spun off Mint Mobile only because Ryan Reynolds wanted to buy an ownership stake in it.”

Once Mint SIM was fully broken away, Ryan Reynolds entered the scene. He bought an ownership stake in the company, rumored to be between 20% and 25%. This means Ryan Reynolds is an owner of the company.

When he acquired the stake in 2019, Reynolds made a statement that said:

“Celebrities generally invest in high-end products like skincare brands or delicious gin companies. Yet Mint is making wireless way more affordable at a time when the average American is paying 65 dollars a month. I’m excited to champion a more practical approach to the most essential technology.”

Newest @_MintMobile customer. Also, owner of the company. To keep things above board, I’ll be paying myself $15 a month. #MintOwner pic.twitter.com/hrzd8t8T2H

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 25, 2019

In the Inc interview, Glickman explained why he wanted Reynolds on board with the project, saying:

“For several years, Ryan and I were both board members of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. I watched him do his unique brand of guerrilla marketing on Deadpool, a movie he starred in and co-produced. He was given a next-to-nothing budget and had to do it all on his own and it became the highest-grossing R-rated movie at the time. Then, he did it again with Aviation American Gin, which was almost unheard of when he bought an ownership stake in 2018.

Last year, alcohol giant Dia-geo bought it for up to $610 million; the final sale price hinges on the company’s performance over the next few years. I said to him, “If you can do that with a wireless company, it’d be worth tens of billions of dollars. Why don’t you just come in here and do that with Mint?” I’m still the CEO of both companies, but he created all the Mint Mobile marketing you see. Whether he’s in it or not. “

But he goes on to point out that Reynolds isn’t just doing the advertising and that the actor is actually a major driving force behind the scenes, adding that:

“He demands that we have the highest level of customer care in the entire wireless industry. We say we have the lowest customer churn of anyone in the industry because, as Ryan likes to say, “we don’t hate you.” It’s not just a celebrity endorsement; he is the owner, and I’d partner with him on a business venture if his celebrity brought nothing to the table.”

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