Conor McGregor is on his way to becoming Ireland’s first billionaire sports star yesterday after selling a €500million stake in his whiskey company.
The Crumlin man is battling to save his MMA career with a make-or-break trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier in July - but while he toils in the gym, his Proper No. Twelve whiskey is booming.
The two-weight world champion is no longer the majority shareholder but will split around €90million with his agent Audie Attar and their partner Ken Austin.
Spokeswoman Karen J Kessler told the Irish Mirror: “The terms of the agreement are confidential, however, the most important thing is Conor McGregor will remain a stakeholder of Proper No. Twelve, the brand that will make him a billionaire.”
And McGregor posted on social media: “In just under three years, we went from a dream to the biggest Irish whiskey in the world.
“A HUGE step for Proper No. Twelve today as we now forge ahead to the next phase of our company’s history.”
The Notorious, 32, has made a fortune from his MMA career, property dealing and advertisement deals.
His endorsements include those with Beats by Dre, Monster Energy, EA, Burger King and Reebok.
But his biggest single pay day was his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather for which it’s reckoned he took home more than €115million between his fight fee and pay per view share.
According to Forbes, he was worth €99.4million –placing him 53rd on its top 100 list of the highest-earning celebrities, thanks to annual earnings of €39.8million.
The sports mogul also owns several properties including two pubs in Dublin.
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