In 2011, actress/mom Jessica Alba was frustrated by the lack of eco-friendly baby products on the market, so she created The Honest Company to make and sell things like diapers and baby wipes that were free of harsh chemicals or materials that might sit in a landfill for the next century. Flash forward a decade and that business, which went public yesterday, is now valued at more than $1.4 billion. Which is why Alba’s looking like a damn superhero above—and deservedly so.
On Wednesday morning, Alba was in New York City with her husband, Cash Warren, and their three children to ring the bell at NASDAQ and watch as her net worth grew. And grew. And grew. It was a big day for Alba and The Honest Company, as its stock price increased by more than 40 percent on day one, raising $413 million in its IPO. So just how much of that belongs to Alba? According to The Hollywood Reporter, the star of that terrible Fantastic Four movie (no, the earlier terrible one) owns more than 5.6 million shares of the company, which translates to about $130 million. Ka-ching!
While there’s a financial risk that comes with any company going public, Alba’s probably not too worried. She does have that acting thing to fall back on, after all. Even so, the future outlook for The Honest Company is very much dependent on Alba’s association with it. According to The Hollywood Reporter:
In its IPO prospectus, the company told potential investors that “we believe that the success of our brand depends in part on our ongoing affiliation with Jessica Alba,” noting that it has a likeness agreement with the Hollywood star, which she can terminate at any time with written notice. “The loss of the services of Ms. Alba, or the loss of our ability to use Ms. Alba’s likeness, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.”
And to think it all began with a baby’s poopy diaper.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)