How Jimmy Buffett Turned His Hit Song Into a Billion Dollar 'Margaritaville' Monster
Jimmy Buffett's journey from musical artist to entrepreneur seemed like a natural pivot.
The 'Margaritaville' singer, who died on September 1 at the age of 76 from Merkel cell skin cancer, is known for turning his hit songs and island persona into a full-fledged business.
The success of the 1977 song "Margaritaville" inspired Buffett to launch his Margaritaville brand of merchandise, restaurants, resorts and more after restaurant chain Chi-Chi's tried to market " Margaritaville" as a special drink, according to The Austin Chronicle. Buffett sued and won in 1983, and from then on Buffett turned the Margaritaville into money.
The Margaritaville brand was born in 1985 and grew from a T-shirt shop to the Margaritaville Cafe in Key West in 1987, according to Florida Today. But Buffett didn't stop there. The Margaritaville brand has since expanded to hotels, casinos, cruises and even retirement homes.
Keep scrolling down the page for more details on Jimmy Buffett's entrepreneurship.
Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images | Jimmy Buffett performs at Old School Square in Delray Beach, Florida on May 13, 2021. Buffett died Friday, September 1, 2023 at the age of 76.
After opening the first Margaritaville restaurant in Key West in 1987, he opened another at Universal Studio's City Walk in Orlando in 1999, according to Florida Today. He then added hotels to his catalog after licensing his name to a $50 million Florida hotel in 2010 in Pensacola. In 2015, he opened Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Florida and Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Today, the Margaritaville brand includes 31 hotels and resorts in the United States, including Margaritaville Palm Springs, Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island and Margaritaville Resort Times Square. He also owns a Latitude Margaritaville, a retirement community located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina.
The Margaritaville umbrella also has a cruise line docked in Palm Beach, Florida, casinos such as the Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Radio Margaritaville on Sirius XM, a home decor line sold on the Margaritaville and Tequila website. called Margaritaville sold at retailers like Drizly.
Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images | Margaritaville Resort Times Square "First Look" at Margaritaville Resort Times Square on June 10, 2021 in New York City.
Buffett's restaurants include LandShark Bar & Grill with 17 locations in Florida and the South, and Cheeseburger in Paradise according to the Wall Street Journal, the latter of which sold in 2012 for $11 million and then closed all of its restaurants. doors in 2020.< /p>
He has also written three best-selling books: "Tales of Margaritaville", "Where's Joe Merchant?" and a 1998 memoir, "A Pirate Looks Fifty Years Old".
How much did he earn with his music?From the hit song "Margaritaville" from 1977, which spent 22 weeks on the Billboard charts at the time, and his many other hits, including "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" and "Son of a Sailor ", Buffett has earned an estimated $570 million from touring and recording, according to Forbes. His musical catalog is worth 50 million dollars.
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Jimmy Buffett's journey from musical artist to entrepreneur seemed like a natural pivot.
The 'Margaritaville' singer, who died on September 1 at the age of 76 from Merkel cell skin cancer, is known for turning his hit songs and island persona into a full-fledged business.
The success of the 1977 song "Margaritaville" inspired Buffett to launch his Margaritaville brand of merchandise, restaurants, resorts and more after restaurant chain Chi-Chi's tried to market " Margaritaville" as a special drink, according to The Austin Chronicle. Buffett sued and won in 1983, and from then on Buffett turned the Margaritaville into money.
The Margaritaville brand was born in 1985 and grew from a T-shirt shop to the Margaritaville Cafe in Key West in 1987, according to Florida Today. But Buffett didn't stop there. The Margaritaville brand has since expanded to hotels, casinos, cruises and even retirement homes.
Keep scrolling down the page for more details on Jimmy Buffett's entrepreneurship.
Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images | Jimmy Buffett performs at Old School Square in Delray Beach, Florida on May 13, 2021. Buffett died Friday, September 1, 2023 at the age of 76.
After opening the first Margaritaville restaurant in Key West in 1987, he opened another at Universal Studio's City Walk in Orlando in 1999, according to Florida Today. He then added hotels to his catalog after licensing his name to a $50 million Florida hotel in 2010 in Pensacola. In 2015, he opened Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Florida and Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Today, the Margaritaville brand includes 31 hotels and resorts in the United States, including Margaritaville Palm Springs, Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island and Margaritaville Resort Times Square. He also owns a Latitude Margaritaville, a retirement community located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina.
The Margaritaville umbrella also has a cruise line docked in Palm Beach, Florida, casinos such as the Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Radio Margaritaville on Sirius XM, a home decor line sold on the Margaritaville and Tequila website. called Margaritaville sold at retailers like Drizly.
Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images | Margaritaville Resort Times Square "First Look" at Margaritaville Resort Times Square on June 10, 2021 in New York City.
Buffett's restaurants include LandShark Bar & Grill with 17 locations in Florida and the South, and Cheeseburger in Paradise according to the Wall Street Journal, the latter of which sold in 2012 for $11 million and then closed all of its restaurants. doors in 2020.< /p>
He has also written three best-selling books: "Tales of Margaritaville", "Where's Joe Merchant?" and a 1998 memoir, "A Pirate Looks Fifty Years Old".
How much did he earn with his music?From the hit song "Margaritaville" from 1977, which spent 22 weeks on the Billboard charts at the time, and his many other hits, including "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" and "Son of a Sailor ", Buffett has earned an estimated $570 million from touring and recording, according to Forbes. His musical catalog is worth 50 million dollars.
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