{"id":37661,"date":"2021-02-12T11:34:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T11:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/george-clooney-gives-14-million-to-friends\/"},"modified":"2021-02-12T11:34:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T11:34:00","slug":"george-clooney-gives-14-million-to-friends","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/george-clooney-gives-14-million-to-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"George Clooney Gives $14 Million to Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent interview with GQ<\/em>, George Clooney discusses his "charmed" life. GQ<\/em>'s "Icon of the Year" was married in 2014 at the age of 53. But in 2013, the celebrity had no children and no clue that this would ever change. He shared:<\/p>\n\n

\n

I thought, what I do have are these guys who've all, over a period of 35 years, helped me in one way or another. I've slept on their couches when I was broke. They loaned me money when I was broke. They helped me when I needed help over the years. And I've helped them over the years. We're all good friends. And I thought, you know, without them I don't have any of this.<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

In true Oceans 11 <\/em>style, he located a bank in downtown Los Angeles that warehoused large sums of actual cash, borrowed a beat-up old van with the words "Florist" on the side, took the van to this undisclosed location, drove onto a freight elevator, and rode it down to a basement where pallets of cash were stored. He then loaded 14 (high-end) Tumi bags each with $1m. He called his friends to a meeting and gave each a bag of non-sequential unmarked bills.<\/p>\n\n

GQ<\/em> concludes: <\/p>\n\n

\n

This is a story about a charmed life. But it's also a story about a guy who is doing his best to keep it that way, to liven up the days, to give himself more stories to tell before his time is up." I'll simply paraphrase Clooney's final words, “You know, it's funny. I remember talking to one really rich [individual] who I ran into in a hotel in Vegas—certainly a lot richer than I am. And the story about the cash I gave away had come out, and he was like, “Why would you do that?” And I was like, “Why wouldn't you do that, you … (jerk)?”<\/p>\n

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