Celebrity Business Moves — 2026-05-01

Top Moves This Week

Hailey Bieber — Rhode Named a TIME100 Most Influential Company

• The Move: Rhode, the beauty brand founded by Hailey Bieber, was named to TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies list for 2026.
• Details: Bieber serves as founder and chief creative officer. The brand is headquartered in Hollywood, where production operations are run from OBB Studios. The recognition places Rhode alongside the world's most impactful businesses across all sectors.
• Why It Matters: Rhode's inclusion in this elite list signals that celebrity-founded beauty brands are no longer a novelty — they are legitimate market disruptors. The brand has become one of the most discussed in the DTC (direct-to-consumer) beauty space, with strong social media presence and product sell-outs driving mainstream credibility.
• Smart or Risky?: Very smart. Rhode has built genuine product equity beyond Bieber's fame, which is the distinguishing factor for long-term celebrity brand success. The TIME recognition validates the business model rather than just the celebrity.

1 sources

time.com

time.com

Josh Kushner / Thrive Capital — First Sports Investment in SF Giants

• The Move: Thrive Capital, the venture firm founded by billionaire Josh Kushner, acquired a minority stake in Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants.
• Details: This is the inaugural investment from Thrive's newly launched strategy, Thrive Eternal, which focuses on non-technology companies — a significant departure from the firm's traditional tech-heavy portfolio. No financial terms were disclosed.
• Why It Matters: The deal marks a meaningful strategic shift for one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture funds. Sports franchise ownership is increasingly seen as an alternative asset class, and having a name like Thrive Capital — known for backing Stripe, Instagram, and Oscar Health — enter the space signals growing institutional confidence in sports as an investment vehicle.
• Smart or Risky?: Smart long-term play. Sports franchise valuations have consistently appreciated, and MLB ownership provides brand prestige alongside financial upside. The "Thrive Eternal" framing also suggests this is a legacy, multi-decade position rather than a quick flip.

1 sources

sportsbusinessjournal.com

sportsbusinessjournal.com

Kim Kimble — RAW MAGIC x Kim Kimble ICON Collection with Luvme Hair

• The Move: Renowned Hollywood hairstylist Kim Kimble co-created her first celebrity wig collection with Luvme, a premium human hair wig brand.
• Details: The collection is called the RAW MAGIC x Kim Kimble ICON Collection, developed in partnership with Luvme's premium human hair wig line. Kimble has spent decades styling A-list celebrities at the highest levels of entertainment and brings serious creative credibility to the collaboration.
• Why It Matters: Kimble is not a pop star or actress — she's a behind-the-scenes power player whose name carries deep weight within the professional beauty and Black hair care community. Her move into product co-creation represents a broader trend of industry experts (not just celebrities) leveraging their reputations for equity-based brand deals.
• Smart or Risky?: Smart and differentiated. Co-creation with a credentialed professional rather than a tabloid celebrity gives the product line stronger trust signals with core consumers who understand craftsmanship.

Brand Launches & Expansions

• Kim Kimble — RAW MAGIC x Kim Kimble ICON Collection: Premium human hair wig line co-created with Luvme; targets professional-quality consumers in the Black hair care and styling market who prioritize both aesthetics and craftsmanship.

• Hailey Bieber / Rhode — TIME100 Influential Company recognition: Rhode continues rapid expansion as one of the most culturally relevant DTC beauty brands, with operations anchored out of OBB Studios in Hollywood. The brand's inclusion in a global business ranking (not just a beauty ranking) signals mainstream legitimacy.

Investments & Deals

• Josh Kushner / Thrive Capital invested in San Francisco Giants: Thrive's first-ever sports asset acquisition, made through the new Thrive Eternal long-horizon fund. Marks a formal expansion of one of tech's top VC firms into professional sports ownership — a sector increasingly attractive to institutional and celebrity-adjacent capital.

• Kim Kimble partnered with Luvme Hair: A co-creation deal placing Kimble's professional brand equity at the center of a new wig product line. The deal structure involves creative direction and brand association rather than a pure endorsement, suggesting Kimble likely holds an equity or royalty stake in the collection.

Sports Stars in Business

• Josh Kushner (Thrive Capital): Although Kushner is a VC founder rather than an athlete, his firm's first sports investment — a stake in the SF Giants through the newly launched Thrive Eternal strategy — is the most significant sports business crossover of the week. The move underscores how the line between Silicon Valley and professional sports ownership continues to blur.

• BSN SPORTS — Acquisitions of Sports Endeavors and Lax.com: On April 27, BSN SPORTS announced the acquisition of two leading sport-specific brands — Sports Endeavors (club soccer) and Lax.com (lacrosse) — uniting them under BSN's national scale and tech infrastructure. While not athlete-led, this consolidation reshapes the equipment and apparel supply chain that athletes, teams, and leagues depend on.

Analysis: What's Trending

• Beauty remains the dominant celebrity business vertical. Rhode's TIME100 recognition and Kim Kimble's Luvme collaboration both point to beauty and hair care as the sector where celebrity and expert equity generates the most durable brand value. Expect more co-creation deals involving industry professionals — not just famous faces — as brands seek credibility over clout.

• Sports ownership is the new prestige asset class. Thrive Capital's Giants stake confirms that VC firms and celebrity-adjacent money are actively building sports portfolios. This is no longer just a vanity purchase — the Thrive Eternal framing shows long-horizon investment thinking applied to franchises.

• Co-creation over pure endorsement. Both the Kim Kimble/Luvme deal and the broader Rhode model reflect a shift away from traditional paid endorsements toward equity stakes and co-creation arrangements. This gives celebrities and experts more upside — and more accountability — than a simple sponsorship check.

• DTC authenticity is being rewarded. Rhode's TIME recognition highlights that consumers and industry observers are now evaluating celebrity brands on product quality and business fundamentals, not just on the founder's follower count.

What to Watch Next

• Rhode's next product launch: With TIME100 recognition in hand, Bieber's team will likely use the cultural moment to announce an expansion — whether into new SKUs, retail partnerships, or international markets. Watch for a major product drop in Q2 2026.

• Kim Kimble x Luvme sales performance: The RAW MAGIC ICON Collection just launched. Early sell-through data and consumer reviews in the Black hair care community will determine whether this becomes a template for future expert-driven co-creation deals in the beauty space.

• Thrive Eternal's next sports bet: Having made its inaugural sports investment in the SF Giants, Thrive's new fund has declared its strategy publicly. The question is which franchise or sports property comes next — and whether other major VC firms follow with their own sports-focused vehicles.