Robert De Niro: Nobu
Robert De Niro wasn’t the brain behind Nobu. In fact, he was really just one of the investors. Nobu was started by the world-famous Japanese chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa, and he was funded primarily by De Niro and a couple of other small-scale investors.
What simply started as a New York staple in 1993 has bloomed into one of the most successful restaurant chains in the world. With 32 locations around the globe and climbing, chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa is almost as much a celebrity as the man who helped him get started.