Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel, whose clients include Meghan Markle, sends two pages listing foods he cannot eat if invited to dinner, it is claimed.
Emirati government official Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed: ‘Some people will come to your house and say, “I don’t eat cheese or I’m lactose intolerant,”
‘Ari will send a two-page list of things he will or won’t eat.’
Emanuel, the inspiration for Jeremy Piven’s foul-mouthed agent on HBO show Entourage, also paid subordinate Christian Muirhead $10,000 to run the LA Marathon to get in better shape, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Muirhead completed the marathon and so-impressed Emanuel that he’s now a co-chairman at his firm.
The health-freak super agent’s fascinating demands and behavior have been revealed in a new profile.
He is said to be a ferocious boss and brutal negotiator who’s adored by his clients and was described as a ‘savage with a heart’ by one business associate.
Emanuel, who helped found the Endeavor talent agency, rises at 4am each day for a workout and an ice bath.
Among the first calls he makes is to his movie star client Mark Wahlberg, also known for getting up before dawn to begin working out.
WME CEO Ari Emanuel is seen here at this year’s Vanity Fair Oscar Party with wife Sarah Staudinger, a 36-year-old fashion designer
Mark Wahlberg, Ari Emanuel and Producer Stephen Levinson (Johnny Alves in the background)
Emanuel, 64, is worth more than $1 billion and was paid more than $83 million last year.
Just how hard he grafts for his enormous salary was also revealed by the Journal, with Emanuel making around 300 work-related phone calls on an average day.
Besides Wahlberg, Emanuel’s agency represents Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Oprah Winfrey and Meghan Markle.
He fired actor Justin Baldoni from his books after the actor was accused of sexual harassment by his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
Emanuel said in February that he was ‘ride or die’ for Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds – both of whom are his clients.
But the pair are now teetering on the brink of professional and reputational ruin after Baldoni hit back with his own countersuit he says proves that Lively is a liar and that Reynolds is a manipulative bully.
Emanuel hasn’t spoken about Lively or Reynolds since.
Emanuel’s other company TKO Group Holdings owns UFC and WWE, with Emanuel spotted ringside at a UFC event with Trump last weekend.
But he’s a Democrat who donated $1 million to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
Like Entourage’s Ari Gold is vain to the point of being a ‘perfectionist’, as the Journal puts it.
The tycoon ‘doesn’t shy away from acknowledging’ as such, the report continues, recalling Emanuel’s own workout routine that has continued like clockwork for his entire career.
‘We usually catch up every day about 4:30 or 5am,’ said fellow early riser Wahlberg of how Emanuel still finds time to call every morning amid this ‘intense’ daily regimen.
Emanuel initially tried to distance himself from Entourage when it began airing. But once the show became a hit he is said to have been happy to tell people around Hollywood that he’s ‘the real Ari.’
Emanuel is pictured with Joe Rogan in 2024. The super-agent believes live events including sports will help make him his next fortune
Emanuel and wife Sarah Staudinger pose with Emily Blunt and her husband John Krasinski at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscars party
Emanuel was born in Chicago to a doctor father and civil rights activist mom who once ran a nightclub.
He was ferociously competitive with his two brothers, both of whom have also gone on to be high-flyers.
One of them, Emanuel, was a chief of staff to former President Barack Obama and is touted as a future Democrat presidential candidate.
The other, Ezekiel, is a renowned oncologist.
Emanuel began his career as a trainee at Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood and made his fortune after helping found Endeavor.
Endeavor merged with iconic agency William Morris in 2009 to become William Morris Endeavor (WME) and further consolidated Emanuel’s status as Hollywood’s top power player.
Emanuel helped take Endeavor public in 2021.
That saw Emanuel holding shares worth close to $500 million, with the agent officially joining the billionaire’s club in early 2025, according to Bloomberg.
He’s also the president of UFC parent TKO, which also counts Emanuel as its CEO and split from WME to become a separate company in 2023.
Emanuel is now focusing on buying up live sporting and music events and is said to consider both a lucrative future source of revenue.
He is a father to three sons with ex-wife Sarah Hardwick Addington. The couple divorced in 2018 and in 2022 Emanuel married fashion designer Sarah Staudinger, who runs the brand STAUD.