George Clooney might not have the most conventional ways of showing affection toward his loved ones, but well, it’s the thought that counts, right? Like that time when he thought a million dollars would be an appropriate gift to shower his dearest friends with gratitude, because as heartfelt as the gesture may have been, it was also quite perplexing, to say the least, for the people on the receiving end to stomach. But well, it was nothing a dash of some solid emotional blackmail couldn’t fix.
The Reason That Drove George Clooney to Gift Wrap Millions
And then the unthinkable happened and suddenly, the movie was swimming in an ocean of profit as well as accolades, including the seven Oscar wins that it bagged. Following Gravity‘s gargantuan success, both Clooney and Bullock became proud owners of an ungodly amount of money. But an estimated $20 million at the time turned out to be a rather overwhelming sum, one which the actor/director had no idea how to possibly handle.
With no financial obligations to fulfill and no family to fend for, the Ocean’s Eleven star did the next best thing he could think of – he decided to fork over a million dollars each to 14 of his closest pals. In an old interview with GQ, Clooney, 62, recounted how he was simply repaying his friends for all the times they’d been there for him in times of need.
“I thought, you know, without them I don’t have any of this. And we’re all really close, and I just thought, basically, if I get hit by a bus, they’re all in the will. So why the f**k am I waiting to get hit by a bus?”
And while his heart was in the right place, the execution of his plan was perhaps a bit faulty, to begin with, because what good friend would just take $1 million from their buddy, no questions asked? But of course, Clooney had a way around that little conundrum too.
Emotional Blackmail Worked Like A Charm
When the award-winning actor presented a suitcase brimming with cash to each of his friends during a dinner party, one of them, businessman and former model, Rande Gerber, refused to accept the bounty, regardless of just how tempting it might’ve been.
In the present day, Gerber’s net worth is roughly $400 million, a figure that speaks for itself. But while he had been relatively well off at that time too, some of the others in their circle had been living from hand to mouth back then, and well, Clooney knew that would be enough of a sore spot for the former to not turn down his very generous gift.
See also: “I don’t like being mean to George”: Julia Roberts Had One Problem While Working With George Clooney
The conversation between these two friends on this whole thing was once shared by Randy Gerber himself,
“I pull him aside and said, ‘I absolutely am not taking this million dollars.’ Immediately George goes, ‘I’m just going to make one announcement. If Rande doesn’t take the million dollars, nobody gets it.'”
Although he ultimately ended up taking the money, Gerber decided to put it to good use and pass it down to charity instead. As for Clooney, he had nothing but praise for his longtime buddy. “It was an incredibly thoughtful gift. But that is truly the kind of friend George is,” he told People magazine.
Source: GQ
