Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has built a lasting legacy on the track and a formidable business empire, preparing for post-motorsport.
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 .
” he told Deadline last year in a big announcement about his first steps in Hollywood.
“People I’ve talked to have said, “Look, when I stopped it all came crashing down. I wasn’t prepared to do other things, I hadn’t taken the time to learn any other crafts, other skills, and I don’t know what my other passions are, so I didn’t really focus on trying to understand what those were and create pillars.”
“So when I stop racing – which I don’t plan on doing for a while, I still feel I’m in a good place – I want it to be seamless. I want to be able to move on to fully focus on Dawn Apollo Films and to be able to jump in at a similar level to what I’ve been used to.”
Dawn Apollo Films is a film and TV production company founded by the Brit last year. One of his first major projects is already ongoing in the form of the Hollywood movie about F1 starring Brad Pitt that is already in production, on which Hamilton serves as an executive producer.
And that won’t be his only involvement in the sporting world. Also last year, the 38-year-old invested in the Denver Broncos, joining the ownership group of the NFL franchise which is headed up by Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune.
Hamilton’s investments haven’t all been as well-known. He contributed money to the startup grocery delivery company Zapp and invested in a number of vegan food companies. Included in that are NotCo, a food technology company backed by Roger Federer, and Green Drink, a company also supported by Hugh Jackman, who plays the Wolverine.
However, he made a more profitable investment in the chain of plant-based restaurants Neat Burger. He owns a sizeable portion of the business, which has grown rapidly over the past few years to reach an estimated value of £82 million earlier this year.
The success of several London restaurants allowed the business to expand naturally in its early years. Additionally, the chain debuted its first restaurant outside of the UK in April.