Jessica Alba earned a significant amount of money after her wellness brand, The Honest Company, went public on Wednesday (5 May).
Raising $413 million in its IPO, The Honest Company opened with its price rising more than 40 percent intra-day, and closing at $23 per share.
The company, which specialises in baby and beauty products, was also valued at more than $1.4 billion in its IPO. This has earned the company's founder and chief creative officer a one-time $2.6 million dividend, according toThe Hollywood Reporter, in addition to her stake in the company.
Alba currently owns more than 5.6 shares, which are worth just under $130 million as of today.
“We believe that the success of our brand depends in part on our ongoing affiliation with Jessica Alba,” the company’s IPO prospectus said, noting that Alba could terminate their agreement at any time with written notice.
“We plan to accelerate our growth outside the United States by leveraging the Honest brand and global reach of Jessica Alba,” the company added. “We plan to prioritise markets where consumer trends towards clean, ingredient-led products in our categories are accelerating.”
Last March, Alba opened up about her decision to pivot away from acting and toward entrepreneurship. She founded The Honest Company in 2012.
“Building a brand and building a business is f**king impossible,” she told Romper. “And to be good at it and for it to thrive and scale, it is really hard. If anything, I was like, ‘Do I really want to do this?
“It took me three-and-a-half years just to find partners to even join me, and I got lots of rejection. I had to learn how to build decks. In every stage, I'm trying to get better and better as a business person, but it's a totally different skill set than just taking your influence and fame and putting your name on a package and doing a press tour, picking out a couple designs."
