Berner, first cannabis executive to grace the cover of Forbes

American rapper Berner, CEO of Cookies, the popular cannabis brand founded in California, is the first cannabis executive to make the cover of Forbes.

In a tweet, Berner called the blanket treatment «a dream of some of the world's greatest CEOs».

«Extremely honored and blessed to be one of the faces of federal legalization in our country,» added the 38-year-old.

In June, Business Insider reported that Cookies was «the world's first billion-dollar brand of legal weed».

The company operates 49 dispensaries in the United States and also markets a line of clothing that is popular worldwide. According to Business Insider, The Cookies clothing line alone generated $50 million in sales last year.

Earlier this year, the company partnered with Gage Growth Corp. to open the first Cookies store in Canada. The Canadian product line is grown by Pure Sunfarms, using Cookies' genetics and post-production processes.

Founded in 2010, Cookies has become the world's best-known cannabis brand. The company boasts over 70 exclusive cannabis cultivars and more than 2,000 products in its range.

At the start of his entrepreneurial career, Berner was reportedly offered $800 million for the company.

«I mean, I had to think about it for a while. I want people to be motivated, and I want people to know that the first proposal is not the best one,» he said in 2020, discussing the mainly stock offer from an unnamed Canadian producer.

«I looked at it this way: if the first contract I got was for $800 million and it was mostly stock - and the stock game can be great and then fall - and everyone goes public at the same time, what would happen if I turned it down? That makes me a boss,» he declared.

Berner didn't leave empty-handed, however. Instead, he opted for $10 million in cash for 10 of the company's %s.

«I'll look at that $800 million and think, «Thank God I didn't do that.» Or maybe I didn't. But that's the risk I was willing to take,» he said in the podcast, which you can find below.