The Investment Ryan Reynolds Says He's 'More Proud Of Than Anything He's Done In His Life'

Actor Ryan Reynolds has accomplished the rare feat of being as famous for his prowess as an investor and businessman as he is for his work on the silver screen. One of his early forays into investing was Mint Mobile, which he famously pitched in television commercials before selling the company to T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) for $1.35 billion. Although Fortune estimates he made $300 million on that transaction, it's not Reynolds' favorite investment.

Reynolds is co-owner of English soccer club Wrexham, and he reflected on his time with the club during an episode of the "Men in Blazers" podcast. "If I were to look back and tell you what I'm most proud of, it would be this….aside from my family," Reynolds said. "Wrexham has informed more of my life than I could ever possibly calculate." 

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That is incredibly high praise considering Reynolds is married to actress Blake Lively, with whom he shares four daughters. It's highly doubtful Reynolds will net a larger profit from his investment in Wrexham than he did from his 25% stake in Mint Mobile. Yet, Wrexham has captured his heart in a way that dollars and cents on a spreadsheet never could.  It could have something to do with the passion that English soccer is famous for.

That's because soccer clubs in England are more than just sports teams, something which is especially true for lower division teams like Wrexham. Even though many of the biggest teams in the top-level English Premier League are owned by billionaires like Arsenal's Stan Kroenke or Manchester City's Sheikh Mansour, there is an entire community of supporters behind every club.

In many cases, this community of supporters stretches back several generations, and the clubs become central parts of life in the cities where they play. Smaller clubs don't play in gleaming $1 billion stadiums with luxury suites and five-star restaurants. Most clubs in the fourth division, which is where Wrexham was when Reynolds bought in, play in stadiums that barely hold 10,000 people. Despite that, game day is a community event that the entire town participates in.

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Fans who don't get into the stadium fill Wrexham's pubs on game day and sing the club song. Win or lose, fans in cities like Wrexham love their club and view it as a public trust. Reynolds and co-owner Ryan McIlhenny's journey with the team has become a reality TV show in the U.S. Reynolds has been moved by the involvement and passion of the club's fan base.

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 "You can hate me and Rob," Reynolds told "Men in Blazers." "But it's very hard to not root for that community and that place because, boy, when we first got there, there was a lot of ‘why Wrexham?', and you don't hear any of that anymore." Reynolds' involvement has coincided with a period of unprecedented success in Wrexham history.

English soccer does not have a draft where the worst teams can rebuild by getting first crack at the best players. Every year, the teams that finish in the bottom three slots in their respective division are relegated to a lower division, while the top three teams from that division are promoted to replace the relegated sides.

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Being relegated to lower divisions is a financial disaster that has sent many teams into the English equivalent of a corporate bankruptcy. This system puts tremendous pressure on team ownership to sign the right players and hire the right manager. During Reynolds' tenure with the club, Wrexham has won promotion to a higher division for three consecutive years.

They now sit in the Championship Division, just one step away from the Premier League, regarded as one of the world's best. The competition will be higher than anything they've faced since Reynolds bought the club. A promotion to the Premier League would be the crowning achievement for Reynolds. It would also be very lucrative. 

Accounting firm Deloitte estimates that promotion to England's top level can increase a club's value by several hundred million dollars. All Premier League clubs participate in revenue sharing from multibillion-dollar television rights and merchandising deals. With that said, it's clear that Reynolds is more interested in what promotion would mean for the Wrexham community than his bank account. He has embraced the community, and it has embraced him. It's the ultimate feel-good investment story.

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