Russ Weiner
#726

Russ Weiner

United States 56 years old Self-Made

Overview

Source of Wealth
Energy drinks
Residence
Delray Beach, Florida
Education
San Diego State University (Bachelor of Arts/Science)
Marital Status
Single

Biography

Russ Weiner founded energy drink company Rockstar in 2001.

Weiner sold Rockstar to PepsiCo in 2020, in a deal worth more than $4 billion.

The son of right-wing talk-radio star Michael Savage, Weiner ran for California State Assembly in 1998.

Though he lost the race, Weiner caught the eye of his father's friend, Skyy Vodka founder Maurice Kanbar, who quickly hired him.

When Kanbar rejected Weiner's idea for an energy drink, Weiner quit and launched Rockstar using a $50,000 mortgage on his Sausalito, Calif. condo.

About

Weiner started a yard service company in his Northern California neighborhood at age 8 and worked the drive-thru at Wendy's at 15.

Weiner once owned a 161-foot yacht named 'Rockstar' that was damaged by a Miami drawbridge.

When the first Rockstar cans hit stores and bars, Weiner drove around San Francisco in an old limo painted with the Rockstar logo to promote it.