For someone whose public life has stretched from Manchester to Madrid, Los Angeles to Miami, it’s perhaps unsurprising that David Beckham has built a business portfolio to match. What began as sponsorship deals during his playing career has evolved into long-term ownership stakes and carefully managed partnerships across sport, fashion and spirits.
Beckham is not unusual among elite athletes in this respect. What distinguishes him is the coherence of the portfolio: it reflects the image he has cultivated for nearly three decades — polished but not flashy, traditional yet adaptable.
Inter Miami CF
The most high-profile of Beckham’s business interests is Inter Miami CF, the Major League Soccer club he co-founded. His option to establish an MLS franchise was written into his contract when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007, a detail that at the time seemed speculative. In hindsight, it was strategic.
Inter Miami launched in 2020 and has since become one of the most discussed clubs in North American football, particularly following the arrival of high-profile players. Beckham’s role is not merely ceremonial; he is part of the ownership group and remains publicly involved in shaping the club’s identity.
The project reflects a long-standing interest in football beyond playing — the mechanics of ownership, branding, and infrastructure, rather than just performance on the pitch.
Studio 99
Beckham also founded Studio 99, a production company responsible for documentaries and sports-focused storytelling. The name references his shirt number at Manchester United, but the output is broader than nostalgia.
Studio 99 has produced content for global streaming platforms, often exploring sport, culture and personal narrative. It marks a shift from endorsement to authorship: Beckham not just appearing on screen, but shaping what is produced.
Haig Club
In the drinks industry, Beckham co-founded Haig Club, a single grain Scotch whisky brand developed in partnership with Diageo. Launched in 2014, it was positioned to appeal to a younger audience than traditional Scotch drinkers, both in flavour profile and presentation.
Beckham’s involvement has been central rather than peripheral. He has appeared in campaigns, attended launches and spoken publicly about the brand’s development. It is a stake rooted in equity rather than a straightforward ambassadorial arrangement.
House 99
Grooming was a natural extension of Beckham’s personal brand. In 2018 he launched House 99 in collaboration with L’Oréal. The line focuses on hair and beard care, drawing loosely on Beckham’s own shifting hairstyles over the years.
While celebrity grooming brands are hardly rare, House 99 sits within a broader pattern: Beckham tends to align with established industry partners rather than building entirely independent operations from scratch.
Beckham Brand Holdings
Many of these ventures sit under the umbrella of Beckham Brand Holdings, the company that manages his commercial interests. It oversees licensing, partnerships and intellectual property associated with the Beckham name.
This structure allows for a blend of ownership and collaboration. Some brands are co-founded; others are long-term licensing agreements. The common thread is control — or at least influence — over how the Beckham identity is used.
Eyewear and licensing
In recent years, Beckham has also entered the eyewear market through a licensing agreement with Safilo Group. The resulting collections of David Beckham glasses combine vintage references with contemporary proportions: softly squared acetates, fine metal aviators, tinted lenses in subdued shades.
Although this is a licensed line rather than an independently owned factory operation, it forms part of the same ecosystem. Eyewear, after all, has long been central to Beckham’s public image, from early-2000s rimless styles to heavier, more studious frames in later years.
Retailers such as Shade Station typically stock licensed designer collections of this kind alongside other established eyewear houses. In that context, the Beckham name sits within a broader tradition of fashion-led optical design rather than existing as a standalone novelty.
A portfolio built on longevity
What becomes clear when looking across these ventures is that Beckham’s business interests are not scattered experiments. They tend to cluster around lifestyle, sport and personal presentation — fields in which he has credibility.
There is also a notable emphasis on partnership. From Diageo in spirits to Safilo in eyewear, Beckham has rarely operated in isolation. Instead, he has attached his name and equity to companies with manufacturing and distribution infrastructure already in place.
For a figure whose career began in the academy system at Manchester United and later passed through clubs such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, that approach feels consistent. Teamwork, albeit in a different form.
Beckham’s transition from footballer to investor and brand owner has been gradual rather than abrupt. It mirrors the arc of modern celebrity entrepreneurship, where influence is converted into equity, and image into infrastructure.
He does not own every brand with which he is associated, and the distinction between ownership and endorsement remains important. Yet across football, media, spirits and grooming, the through-line is clear: Beckham has moved from being the face of other people’s businesses to having a stake in his own.
