Mark Wahlberg’s Multimillion-Dollar Empire That Could Let Him Walk Away From Hollywood: Meet the Power Players Behind It

Mark Wahlberg has been quietly building an empire that stretches way past movie sets and protein shakes. The newest piece is a real-world rollout for his athleisure brand, Municipal, which is starting to look less like a merch line and more like its own little ecosystem.

So, what is Municipal actually trying to be?

Wahlberg launched Municipal in 2019 with long-time manager and producer Stephen Levinson and CEO Harry Arnett. The origin story is very on-brand: Mark couldn’t find gear that matched his go-all-day routine, so he made it. The pitch is simple — performance stuff you can live in — and the vibe is all about fueling ambition, confidence, and self-belief. Yes, that’s marketing, but it lines up with how he operates.

Arnett first met Wahlberg on a golf course, which sounds like a cliché but checks out. The two bonded, then teamed with Levinson after spotting a gap where fashion and fitness overlap. Their focus wasn’t just cranking out hoodies; it was building a brand that preaches daily forward motion.

'The idea for Municipal was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It wasn’t about just attaching my name to someone else’s idea... Municipal is different — this is a real partnership from the ground up.'

How it is performing (and how big they want to go)

The global athleisure market is expected to hit $662.56 billion by 2030, and Municipal wants a noticeable slice of that. The brand has reportedly pulled in more than $5 million in annual revenue so far and built a loyal base that’s growing.

Brick-and-mortar is part of the plan. Municipal’s first store opened in California and clocks in at more than 16,000 square feet. Wahlberg’s team wants 20 flagship stores within seven years and dozens of Municipal Gyms over the next decade. There’s already a new Municipal Gym location in Downtown Summerlin that popped up in November 2024. The longer-term idea is a full 'Muniverse' — think gyms, barbershops, cafes, and other daily-life add-ons orbiting the apparel. Ambitious? Yes. Also very Wahlberg.

The team, the athletes, and the watch guy

NFL star Myles Garrett recently joined as an equity partner, which is a smart crossover for a performance brand. He said the move had to make sense across business, opportunity, and impact — and Municipal checked all three for both now and what comes next.

Also in the mix is social media personality and watch enthusiast Zach Lu (aka Zach Attack). According to his Instagram bio, he’s a partner/co-founder at Municipal and a partner in both Wahlburgers and Municipal Gyms. Not your standard apparel org chart, which is kind of the point.

Does Mark even need Hollywood at this point?

Celebrity Net Worth pegs Wahlberg around $400 million, and with Municipal bringing in millions a year and expanding into gyms and retail, he probably doesn’t need movies to pay the bills. But he’s not stepping away either. He’s got Balls Up, By Any Means, and Weekend Warriors on deck, and he’s back voicing John Bennett in Ted: Animated Series.

His other businesses (because of course there are more)

• Production: Closest to the Hole (launched 2004; films and HBO’s Entourage) and Unrealistic Ideas (2018 with Archie Gips and Stephen Levinson; podcasts and documentaries).
• Restaurants: Wahlburgers, founded in 2011 with brothers Donnie and Paul.
• Beverages: Aquahydrate investment in 2012 with Diddy; they reportedly put in $20 million. Aquahydrate was later acquired by Alkaline Water.
• Nutrition: Performance Inspired (all-natural supplements), co-founded in 2016 with Tom Dowd.
• Auto: Launched a car dealership with Jay Feldman in 2018; they’ve since added four more dealerships across Ohio.
• Fitness: 1.73% stake in F45; became chief brand officer in March 2023.
• Spirits: Principal investor in tequila brand Flecha Azul.
• Pet project: A longtime dream concept called Hollywood 2.0 that he’s still pushing forward, hurdles and all.

The bottom line

Municipal is more than another celebrity athleisure drop. It’s designed to be a network that feeds off Wahlberg’s daily-routine ethos — clothes, gyms, hangouts — with real estate and community baked in. The current revenue is modest next to that $400 million estimate, but the expansion plan is big, the partners are strategic, and the execution looks serious. If the 'Muniverse' lands the way they want, this could be the thing Wahlberg is remembered for outside of movies — which, honestly, seems to be the plan.