Michael S. Meldman (born ) is an American entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of

Discovery Land Company Discovery Land Company is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based developer and operator of private residential communities and clubs in North America. The company has been called one of the best developers of resort communities by '' Robb Report Vacation Ho ...

and one of the three founders of

Casamigos Casamigos, often Casamigos Tequila is an American tequila company founded by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman. It is owned by Diageo since 2017. Founded by the actor and two businessmen, the company was sold to Diageo for US$1 bil ...

tequila with

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

and

Rande Gerber Rande Gerber (born April 27, 1962) is an American businessman and former model. He founded tequila brand Casamigos alongside actor George Clooney and real estate businessman Mike Meldman, as well as nightlife companies Midnight Oil, Caliche Ru ...

Early life

Meldman was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and grew up in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. He graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1982.

Career

After Meldman graduated in 1982 he began a career in residential real estate in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

of Northern California. In 1994, he launched

with his first development, The Estancia Club, in his hometown of Scottsdale. Since Estancia, Meldman and Discovery Land Company have developed 25 total clubs in the Pacific, Caribbean, Europe, and North America. 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. In 2012, Meldman partnered with

and

to create Casamigos tequila. In June 2017, it was sold to

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

for $700 million, with an additional $300 million possible depending on the company's performance over the next ten years. Meldman's employees include Jack Brooksbank, husband of

Princess Eugenie of York Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank ( ; Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990) is a member of the British royal family. She is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Ch ...

References

1958 births Living people Chief executive officers American real estate businesspeople People from Milwaukee {{US-business-bio-1950s-stub