George Clooney is among the biggest heavyweights of Hollywood, and even though he hasn't made a film in years, the actor was the highest-paid entertainer in the industry in 2018.

How did he manage to achieve this incredible feat, exactly? Most people probably don't know this but Clooney is a man of many talents. Besides being an award-winning actor and a devoted family man, he is also a successful entrepreneur whose business savvy made him a billion dollars in 2018.

George Clooney really cares about his close friends

It all started with his love for tequila, something that he has in common with his close friends. Whenever the actor would have them over at his house, it would always be over cigars and tequila.

He loved the beverage so much that he decided to make his own, calling it Casamigos Tequila. The name literally translates to 'friends' so you can imagine how much he values friendships.

The actor has a tightly-knit support system consisting of 14 friends who have stuck out with him through thick and thin. So when Clooney made it big in his acting career, he had to show gratitude to the people who mattered the most, and show he did!

Clooney gathered all of his closest friends in 2013 and decided to surprise them with a $1 million check, each. At first, everyone thought that he was joking or pulling a prank on them.

The co-founders of Casamigos

Many of them were even convinced that the actor had handed them bogus checks, after all, who would spend $14 million on their friends for absolutely no reason?

This story only recently came to light after one of the actor's closest friends and cofounder of Casamigos, Rande Gerber, recounted it during an interview. It was later confirmed and corroborated by credible sources and even Clooney's own representative who spoke to INSIDER.

Gerber said that he and the rest of Clooney's friends, who he called 'the boys' received a call one day from the actor who invited them to his house for a 'special' dinner on September 27.

Gerber said that he and the rest of Clooney's friends, who he called 'the boys' received a call one day

When everyone gathered around the dinner table, he presented them all with $1-million checks, as a token of gratitude for all the times they let him crash on their couches while he was still struggling in the industry.

What's more, the money was all theirs as Clooney had already paid off taxes on it. It was a big moment for many of his friends as some of them were struggling with mortgages, college tuition for their kids and other living expenses.