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Michael Meldman
American businessman (born 1958) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Michael S. Meldman (born December 30, 1958) is an American businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Discovery Land Company, and one of the three founders of Casamigos tequila with George Clooney and Rande Gerber.
Early life
Meldman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona.[1][2] His father worked in insurance and his mother was a writer and book reviewer.[2] He graduated from Stanford University in 1981, where he studied history and planned to be a lawyer.[2] He was a member of Theta Delta Chi.[3][4] Meldman in an interview with Business Insider revealed that he performed poorly at the Law School Admission Test, saying that he had "bombed the LSATs". He later worked as a blackjack dealer in Lake Tahoe.[5]
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Career
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After Meldman graduated in 1981, he began a career in real estate in the Bay Area of Northern California. His first position was as a commercial broker. Meldman financed his first property, a 300-acre lot in Portola Valley, California named Blue Oaks, through three friends in the 1980s.[6]
In 1994, he launched Discovery Land Company. Two years later, he opened his first resort development, The Estancia Club, in Scottsdale.[2] Since The Estancia Club, Meldman and Discovery Land Company operates over 35 high-end residential communities globally, as of 2024.[7]
In 2007, Meldman launched the Discovery Land Company Foundation to support non-profit organizations that benefit children and families in the communities that surround the developments.[1]
In 2012, Meldman partnered with Rande Gerber and George Clooney to create Casamigos tequila.[8] In June 2017, it was sold to Diageo for $700 million, with an additional $300 million possible depending on the company's performance over the next ten years.[9]
In December 2024, Meldman purchased a 7.5% stake in ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders.[10]
Meldman credits his sons as his influence for his properties, as the locations are catered toward families.[11]
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Personal life
Meldman has three sons.[1]
References
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