{{short description|American businessman (born 1958)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael S. Meldman | image = frameless| | birth_date = {{birth_date_and_age|1958|12|30}} | birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US | occupation = Businessman }}
'''Michael S. Meldman''' (born {{Birth date|1958|12|30}}) is an American businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Discovery Land Company, and one of the three founders of Casamigos tequila with George Clooney and Rande Gerber.
== Early life == Meldman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> His father worked in insurance and his mother was a writer and book reviewer.<ref name=":1" /> He graduated from Stanford University in 1981, where he studied history.<ref name=":1" /> He was a member of Theta Delta Chi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2020 |title=How Discovery Land Company's Mike Meldman Develops the World's Most Exclusive Private Clubs and Resort Communities |url=https://csq.com/2020/06/how-discovery-land-companys-mike-meldman-develops-the-worlds-most-exclusive-private-clubs-and-resort-communities/ |access-date=January 6, 2021 |website=CSQ {{!}} C-Suite Quarterly |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Keates 20162">{{cite news |last=Keates |first=Nancy |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Developer Mike Meldman Is Real Estate's Party Boy |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/developer-mike-meldman-is-real-estates-party-boy-1452783341 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> He later worked as a blackjack dealer in Lake Tahoe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Solo-Lyons |first=Natasha |date=June 4, 2021 |title=Mike Meldman is one of the most influential real-estate moguls in the country thanks to his luxurious live-in resorts, which became irresistible to the rich and famous during the pandemic |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-meldman-discovery-land-resorts-luxury-real-estate-casamigos-tequila-2021-6 |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Career == After Meldman graduated in 1981, he began a career in real estate in the Bay Area of Northern California. His first position was as a commercial broker. Meldman financed his first property, a 300-acre lot in Portola Valley, California named Blue Oaks, through three friends in the 1980s.<ref name="Solo-Lyons 2021">{{cite news |last1=Solo-Lyons |first1=Natasha |date=4 June 2021 |title=Mike Meldman is one of the most influential real-estate moguls in the country thanks to his luxurious live-in resorts, which became irresistible to the rich and famous during the pandemic |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-meldman-discovery-land-resorts-luxury-real-estate-casamigos-tequila-2021-6 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241007101447/https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-meldman-discovery-land-resorts-luxury-real-estate-casamigos-tequila-2021-6 |archive-date=7 Oct 2024 |access-date=16 December 2024 |work=Business Insider}}</ref>
In 1994, he launched Discovery Land Company. Two years later, he opened his first resort development, The Estancia Club, in Scottsdale.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Keates|first=Nancy|date=January 14, 2016|title=Developer Mike Meldman Is Real Estate's Party Boy|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/developer-mike-meldman-is-real-estates-party-boy-1452783341|access-date=January 6, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> Since The Estancia Club, Meldman and Discovery Land Company operates over 35 high-end residential communities globally, as of 2024.<ref name="Collins 2024">{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Leah |date=22 May 2024 |title=This ultra-luxe, ultra-exclusive community in the desert is selling plots for up to $50 million |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/dubai-discovery-dunes-luxury-community-spc-intl/index.html |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
In 2007, Meldman launched the Discovery Land Company Foundation to support non-profit organizations that benefit children and families in the communities that surround the developments.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Millington|first=Alison|title=George Clooney and Rande Gerber have a third partner in their $1 billion tequila company, and he happens to be a real estate tycoon|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/george-clooney-rande-gerber-casamigos-mike-meldman-real-estate-tycoon-2018-11|access-date=January 6, 2021|website=Business Insider}}</ref>
In 2012, Meldman partnered with Rande Gerber and George Clooney to create Casamigos tequila.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Swain|first=Peter|title=Meet Mike Meldman, the US tequila tycoon making golf properties cool again|newspaper=The Times|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/meet-mike-meldman-the-us-tequila-tycoon-making-golf-properties-cool-again-7wzxtv5rt|access-date=January 6, 2021|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In June 2017, it was sold to Diageo for $700 million, with an additional $300 million possible depending on the company's performance over the next ten years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whitten|first=Sarah|date=June 21, 2017|title=George Clooney just sold his tequila business for up to $1 billion|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/21/george-clooney-just-sold-his-tequila-business-for-1-billion.html|access-date=January 6, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref>
In December 2024, Meldman purchased a 7.5% stake in ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Tashan |title=NFL owners approve 15 percent sale of Raiders, welcoming more members to ownership group |url=https://nytimes.com/athletic/5985015/2024/12/11/nfl-approve-raiders-sale/ |website=The New York Times |access-date=23 January 2025 |date=December 11, 2024}}</ref>
In March 2026, it was announced Meldman partnered again with Rande Gerber and George Clooney to create a non alcoholic beer Crazy Mountain <ref>{{cite web |last1=Mohr |first1=Ian |title=Casamigos partners George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman launch non-alcoholic beer Crazy Mountain |url=https://pagesix.com/2026/03/09/hollywood/george-clooneys-non-alcoholic-beer-called-crazy-mountain/ |website=Page Six Hollywood |publisher=Page Six |access-date=14 March 2026}}</ref>.
Meldman credits his sons as his influence for his properties, as the locations are catered toward families.<ref name="Keates 2016">{{cite news |last=Keates |first=Nancy |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Developer Mike Meldman Is Real Estate's Party Boy |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/developer-mike-meldman-is-real-estates-party-boy-1452783341 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>
== Personal life == Meldman has three sons.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meldman, Michael}} Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:American businesspeople in the real estate industry Category:Businesspeople from Milwaukee Category:Las Vegas Raiders owners Category:American businesspeople in the drink industry
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