Because he is a heavy user himself: The footballer has a large collection of watches himself, which he claims to have built up via Chrono24. Now he becomes a partner in the German company.
Founder and Co-CEO Tim Stracke with his new investor Cristiano Ronaldo. Chrono24
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo seems to know what stock market star Warren Buffett always preached: Only invest in business models that you really understand. And one would like to add – which you ideally also use yourself.
Two big catches: The self-confessed and passionate luxury watch collector Ronaldo – according to the Swiss Handelszeitung his collection is worth more than 6 million euros – has now invested an unspecified sum in the watch marketplace Chrono24 via his company CR7 SA. The footballer is in the best of company: In the 100 million Series C round in the summer of 2021, which turned the German startup into a unicorn, not only a number of well-known VCs such as General Atlantic and Insight Partners put their money into the company , but also the French billionaire Bernard Arnault (ranked 1st in the Forbes rich list 2022), the main owner of the luxury goods group LVMH. Existing investors are also said to have participated in the current round with CR7 SA.
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Cristiano Ronaldo: Regular Chrono24 user – and now an investor
In the Chrono24 press release, Ronaldo was exuberantly quoted: “As a long-time watch collector and regular user of Chrono24, it is a pleasure for me to become a shareholder of the company.” The company’s letter shows that the fresh capital, but also the network and the popularity of the Portuguese are to be used for Chrono24’s “further global expansion”. That says founder and co-CEO Tim Stracke.
He manages the twenty-year-old company together with Holger Felgner. The place of foundation and headquarters is still Karlsruhe, but Chrono24 now also has offices in Berlin, New York, Miami and Tokyo. According to the company, more than nine million watch fans visit the platform every month to buy and sell watches, monitor the performance of collectibles and present their collections. The Handelsblatt refers to insiders who say that Chrono24 has been profitable for years. At the beginning of the year, there was relatively open speculation about the company going public in the near future.
Ronaldo: Investment in luxury of all kinds
The 38-year-old record footballer has been building a career as an entrepreneur for a long time. Among other things, he founded a fashion label and has shares in several fashion brands, he markets perfumes and care products under his name. In 2015 he invested in the Portuguese hotel chain Pestana, together with tennis star Rafael Nadal, musician Enrique Iglesias and basketball pro Pau Gasol he has a stake in the restaurant chain Tatel. According to media reports, he holds 50 percent of the shares in a hair transplant clinic, he has invested in fitness studios and sometimes, it is said, he also rents out his private jet for money.