Who Is Cindy Crawford's Husband, Rande Gerber?

He may not be as instantly recognizable as his famous spouse, kids, and business partner, but Cindy Crawford's husband, Rande Gerber, is equally successful. Crawford has undergone a stunning transformation over the years, and Gerber's metamorphosis has been just as compelling. Before he married Cindy, became Kaia and Presley's dad, or started a wildly successful tequila brand with George Clooney, Gerber made a name for himself as a power player in the world of hospitality. The man behind some of the hippest, coolest bars in the country, Gerber has a knack for knowing what people want and delivering it. 

"He comes off as very laid-back and he is, but he's also constantly thinking, and he notices ev-ery-thing," Crawford said at a Paris Fashion Week party per The New York Times. "He always has his finger on the pulse of what the next cool thing is going to be." 

To an outsider, Gerber may look like the luckiest man in the world. He is jaw-droppingly handsome, surrounded by supermodels and celebrities, and has a reported net worth of around $400 million. Those who knew him when, however, say that luck had nothing to do with it, and attribute Gerber's success to hustle and hard work. Famous hotelier Ian Schrager, who gave Gerber his start in the hospitality biz, told The New York Times, "He's a model for 'hard work pays off.'"  He added, "He was a kid from Queens, and he went on to marry a beautiful woman and have a beautiful family and great success. And it's always nice when a nice guy does good."

He may technically be a Gerber baby, but Rande Gerber is not THE Gerber baby. In fact, he has no relation to the family that started the eponymous baby food brand, nor is he heir to their fortune. Instead, Gerber's background is what he described to British GQ as "your typical, middle-class family setup." He is one of three boys born to Jordan Gerber, a jeans salesman, and his wife, Ellen. The family lived on Long Island's South Shore, and Gerber enjoyed a life that is in sharp contrast to his and Cindy Crawford's kids' lavish lives. "The weekends were barbecues and basketball, just hanging out in the neighborhood with my two brothers. Pretty unremarkable," he told the magazine. 

His normal suburban life took a turn when his parents divorced and his father moved to New York City. Gerber, then just 13, would visit his dad in the Big Apple and he became fascinated with the nightlife the city had to offer. As a teen, he would hit the city's hot spots, his fake ID and good looks getting him under many velvet ropes, including the iconic Studio 54 co-owned by Ian Schrager. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Schrager would later become very influential in Gerber's career. As his fascination with New York's bar and club scene grew it sparked a desire that fanned the flames of a career that took off like wildfire in ways the kid from Queens couldn't have imagined. 

You might think that models Kaia and Presley Gerber "get it from their mama" Cindy Crawford, but what many people don't know is that their father, Rande Gerber did his fair share of time in front of a camera. While roaming the streets of New York as a teen, his tall frame and striking features caught the eye of a local photographer who recognized his potential, and offered to take some shots. The next thing Gerber knew, he got a call from the famous Ford Agency, asking him if he wanted to sign on with them as a model. "They told me I could travel and earn some decent money," he said in an interview with British GQ. "I mean, why not?"

It wasn't long before Gerber began booking shoots and flying all over the world to work with well-known brands, appearing in ads for companies like Sassoon and Benetton. Unlike his wife and offspring, however, Gerber wasn't destined to make a long-term career out of his good looks. He was juggling his gig as a model with a gig as a student at the University of Arizona where he was studying television production, yet he was still unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. "I thought I wanted to work in music production for a while. I worked for a film producer," he told the magazine. "Then I was given the opportunity to open a bar in New York. So, I was like, 'You know what, I'm going to give it a shot.'" 

The decision to "give it a shot" and open a bar might have been the best one Rande Gerber ever made, next to marrying Cindy Crawford, of course. The opportunity arose thanks to hotelier Ian Schrager, one of the men behind Studio 54, the same club that Gerber was obsessed with in his teens. In a case of life coming full circle, Schrager was a client of Edward S. Gordon where Gerber worked as a commercial real estate agent. Tasked by the hotel giant with finding a bar to lease space in his Times Square property, the Paramount Hotel, and finding none that were suitable, Gerber was met with an interesting proposition from his client. "One day he said to me, 'Why don't you just do it yourself?'" Gerber told the New York Times. So he did. 

The bar was called The Whiskey and it was more than a place for a good drink, it was a whole vibe that drew the "see and be seen" crowd. "I wanted it to feel like a mellow rock'n'roll lounge rather than a club," Gerber explained to British GQ. "We had some café tables in there, a couple of couches, armchairs and about a dozen tall bar stools. There was a long mahogany bar and I lined the walls with Polaroids. It was a sophisticated crowd." The bar's success launched a successful relationship between Gerber and Schrager, who went on to open several more famous bars together, including the stratospherically popular Skybar at Mondrian Los Angeles.

When lightning strikes, you know it, and with the opening of The Whiskey, Rande Gerber was hot. He joined forces with his two brothers, Scott and Kenny Gerber, and formed Gerber Group, a hospitality management company that at one time operated 37 bars and restaurants in 17 cities. To Rande, the formula was simple: create spaces where he would like to hang out and have a drink. "I took the way I entertained at my apartment and brought it to the public," he told Nobleman Magazine. According to his wife, Cindy Crawford, Rande is a man who notices everything. A bit of a perfectionist, he made sure every single element in his bars was cohesive and reflected the vibe he was trying to achieve. "You want everyone to feel really comfortable," he said. "Not only the seating, but as mentioned, the lighting is really important. You want everyone to look good. The smells — what kind of incense or candles I burn. The staff, their uniforms. The glassware I use. The type of ice. The fresh juices. It's truly every little detail of it."

As his success grew, Rande's relationship with Ian Schrager faltered. The two had a falling out when the Gerber Group inked a deal to open bars with Starwood, a competing hotelier. Although they didn't speak for a few years, the two men have risen above it. "To Rande's credit he was staying at one of my new hotels a few years ago and he dropped me a note," Schrager told British GQ. "It said, simply, 'You still got it!' That gives you an idea of the sort of person Rande is — he's a class act, a gentleman."

Perhaps Rande Gerber's class and gentlemanly nature attracted supermodel Cindy Crawford to him. In a world full of celebrity scandals, the truth about Crawford's marriage to Gerber is that it appears to be one of their most solid unions, lasting nearly three decades and counting. Their meet-cute occurred when Crawford's then agent, Michael Gruber, who happened to be a friend of Gerber's, suggested that they attend his wedding together, as neither was going with their significant others. "Of course I knew who she was, but I had never met her before," Gerber told Nobleman Magazine. Crawford, who was with her now ex-husband Richard Gere at the time, requested they meet at The Whiskey the night before the nuptials to see if they got along. They immediately became fast friends. "We were friends for a long time," Gerber said. "Eventually, she went her way, and I went mine, and we reconnected years later." 

That reconnection led to a wedding in the Bahamas and two children, Presley and Kaia Gerber. Crawford credits the longevity of their love to the fact that they were friends first. "Definitely, we had chemistry, but we had a friendship, and I think that that is a great foundation to build a marriage on because even when you're going through stressful times, the way you treat a good friend is with respect and understanding and compassion," she said in an exclusive interview with People. "I feel like that's helped us weather 25 years and some storms."

When actor George Clooney walked into one of Rande Gerber's bars two decades ago, the two men threw back some tequila and a bromance was born. The men golfed together and took boys' trips together, and Gerber was the best man at Clooney's wedding. The men even built houses next door to one another in Mexico. Along the way, they developed a little tequila company, Casamigos, that they sold to the tune of $1 billion. We'll drink to that! Casamigos started as a fun hobby for the tequila-loving duo and their partner Mike Meldmen, who couldn't find a product that met their standards. "We wanted one that didn't burn going down, that was super smooth, and had the right flavor profile," Gerber described to Business Insider. "One that we didn't have to mix — typically we drink it straight or on the rocks – that we could drink all day long and not be hungover in the morning," 

After two years and 700 samples, they hit on a magic formula that they bottled for personal use. Eventually, however, they were producing so much they were required to get a license, and the brand became both official and award-winning. Through clever marketing campaigns that capitalized on the owners celebrity, Casamigos was soon one of the fastest growing brands on the market. The high-quality product, along with the hype, drew the attention of Diageo, who acquired it for a reported $700 million with another possible $300 million based on the brand's 10-year performance. 

When your side hustle earns you a share of $1 billion, and you are already wealthy to begin with, what do you do with all that money? If you are Rande Gerber, you make life a little better for others. Gerber and his wife, Cindy Crawford, have been actively involved in several charitable organizations over the years, lending their time, talents, and dollars to several causes. Especially close to the Gerber family's hearts are organizations that help those battling leukemia, as Crawford lost her youngest brother, Jeffrey, to childhood leukemia when he was just 3 years old. "Whether it's through financial donations, donating the use of a bar, auctioning off things ... there's a lot you can do," Gerber said in an interview with Nobleman Magazine.

Gerber also puts his money where not only his mouth is but also the mouths of others. During the 2020 pandemic, Gerber used his Malibu restaurant, Cafe Habana, to help out those in need. "We feed the homeless, and we always donate food to different charity organizations and events. It's something we always liked to do even before COVID," he told C-Suite Quarterly. "I think a lot of restaurants do that, and if they don't, they should. We are fortunate that we can help out." 

If there is one lesson that Rande Gerber learned from his late father, Jordan Gerber, it's to have your priorities straight. "My dad passed away, but he always said, 'Number one: you've got to live while you're alive.' He did that, and for him it was always family first," the hospitality mogul told Nobleman Magazine. Gerber took that advice to heart and has balanced a stream of successful careers with his role as patriarch of the Gerber clan. Cindy Crawford's husband knows how to make his marriage stand the test of time. "It's important in relationships to remain friends," he told People in an exclusive interview. "Go out, have fun, laugh and try not to take life too seriously," he continued. 

The Gerbers are a close-knit crew, often spotted dining out together, traveling together, walking red carpets, and attending events together. And while you may assume the kids are spoiled Malibu brats, the untold truth of Kaia Gerber is that she seems to have her head on straight. Although we have uncovered some tragic details about Presley Gerber over the years, he seems to have come out on top of his game. Like his supermodel sister, Presley has grown up to be gorgeous. "Those kids have every reason in the world to be screwed up," George Clooney told the New York Times. "They're beautiful kids and they were born into fame and wealth. But Cindy and Rande were very aware of raising kids in Malibu, and how that can go horribly wrong. So they've been really hands-on parents."

When everything you touch seemingly turns to gold, when do you just sit back and relax? That's the million-dollar question for billionaire Rande Gerber, who shows no signs of slowing down. Whatever he does, you can bet it will be with the same attention to detail and knack for knowing what the next "big thing" will be. "I love to see a product I already like, but think: How could this be better? If I can't create it myself, I imagine how the [existing] product could be so much better," he told Haute Time. Gerber also told the magazine that he also looks to the younger generation for advice and inspiration, including his two children, who have their fingers on the pulse of all that is hip and cool. "I definitely get inspired by young people who are doing interesting things. My kids, Presley and Kaia, are always bringing me ideas, like, 'Dad, look at this! Imagine if you could do this in this way, and so on," he said. "So we brainstorm in diverse ways, and I love [their] advice."

Although he doesn't seem to be hitting the brakes on his career any time soon, Gerber and his wife Cindy Crawford, now empty-nesters, are learning to navigate and enjoy this new stage of life. "Sometimes we're just jam-packed with work, and then other times we're dipping our toe in retired life," Crawford told People. "I think we'd drive each other crazy and ourselves crazy if we didn't work at all, but we're lucky we love what we do."