Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has built a lasting legacy on the track and a formidable business empire, in preparation for the post-motor sport.
It remains to be seen when Lewis Hamilton will finally decide to leave Formula 1 – but there is no mystery as to what he will do with his time when he does.
At 38 years old, the seven-time world champion is still going strong. And, having recently signed a contract extension with Mercedes, he will have at least two more efforts to add to his already full trophy cabinet.
Motorsport has been a part of Hamilton’s life since he was a child. His years of karting were dedicated to reaching F1, and once there, his only goal was to win the world championship – over and over again. Only in recent years has his attention turned elsewhere. Aware that his F1 career will not last forever, the British driver has wisely laid the building blocks of what his life will look like once his racing days are over .
“I know very well other elite athletes who spend their lives like me, focused on their sport and when they reach the finish line, they may not necessarily have the right people around them to help them. They arrange the journey that awaits them,” he told Deadline last year in a major announcement about his first steps in Hollywood.
“I talked to people who told me: ‘Look, when I stopped, everything fell apart, I wasn’t ready to do anything else, I didn’t take the time to study the majors. other professions, other skills and other skills. I don’t know what my other passions are, so I haven’t really focused on understanding those passions and creating pillars.
“So when I stopped running – which I wasn’t planning on doing for a while, I still felt like I was in a good place – I wanted everything to go smoothly. I want to be able to move on, focus completely on Dawn Apollo Films and be able to launch at the same level as what I did.”
Dawn Apollo Films is a film and television production company founded by the British last year. One of his first major projects is in the works in the form of Hollywood film F1 starring Brad Pitt, which is already in production and Hamilton is executive producer.
And this wouldn’t be his only foray into the world of sports. Also last year, the 38-year-old invested in the Denver Broncos, joining the NFL franchise’s ownership group led by Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune.
Not all of Hamilton’s investments have been such a big hit. He has funded the grocery delivery startup Zapp and has also invested his money in various vegan food brands. This includes Green Drink, also backed by Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman, and NotCo, the food technology company backed by Roger Federer.
But one of his more lucrative investments has been in plant-based eatery chain Neat Burger. He has a significant stake in the company which has enjoyed impressive growth over the last few years to reach a reported value of £82million earlier this year.
Several restaurants in London proved to be a hit, helping the company to grow organically in its early years. And, in April, the chain opened its first eatery outside of the UK with a location in New York.
Neat Burger’s success led to a fresh wave of investors, including a familiar face to sports fans. Joining independent bank LionTree in throwing cash at the business was Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who contributed a share of a fresh £15m raised by the company.
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