“If I’d said no to $80m, somebody would have committed me to a hospital – like, he needs psychiatric treatment!”: The rock superstar who made more money from his tequila business than he did selling millions of records!

What do you do with $80m? “Anything you want!” said Sammy Hagar, the rock legend who made that fortune in 2007.

And amazingly, that monumental payday came from a business venture completely unrelated to music.

Hagar, now 76, has had a long and successful career in rock ’n’ roll.

He didn’t make much money in the early ’70s with his first major band, Montrose, despite the band’s self-titled debut album being hugely influential over the years.

But as a solo artist, Hagar had a string of hit records. “Once I made it in rock, I never struggled again,” he said.

Hagar’s tenure as the singer for Van Halen was massively successful. All four of the studio album he made with the band went to No.1 in the US.

But all of this was peanuts compared to the money that Hagar made from his own brand of tequila, named Cabo Wabo.

In 2007, he sold an 80% stake in the company for $80m.

As he told Classic Rock: “When the first offer came in at about $60m, that was for the whole thing, and you know, after taxes…

“I just thought, I love this company, it’s making a ton of money, more than I was making in Van Halen, ever. Why do I want to sell it?

“But then they said, ‘How much will it take?’ I told them and they just went, ‘Okay.’

“If I’d have said no to $80m, somebody would have committed me to the hospital – like, he needs psychiatric treatment!”

He continued: “The thing is, I don’t do anything for money. I do it for the thrill of it. I know you’re gonna think, well, if I had your money I’d feel this way too, but I felt this way before I sold my tequila company.

“If you’re only in it for money, you’ll never be satisfied, because money does not satisfy you. It’s the trip – seeing something grow from a seed to a full-blown tree – that’s rewarding. A bunch of money in a bank is not fulfilling, unless you go count it every day.”

Hagar told Classic Rock that he was happy to give away most of that $80m.

“I already had everything,” he said. “I already have a house in Hawaii, a house in Mexico, my main residence in California. I have five Ferraris, E-Type Jags and Aston Martins and old muscle cars.

“So when all that money came in I was like, Hmmm, what am I gonna do with this? So I gave millions and millions of dollars away to my family, I gave all my band members big bonuses, and I started a foundation to help kids.”

Hagar said that his success with the tequila brand was no fluke.

“I hate to brag about it,” he said, “but I do have a great palate. I can taste and smell certain wines and I can tell you what grape it is. But if there’s bad wine, I won’t drink. I don’t drink to get drunk.”

He also revealed a tragic backstory to this success:

“I’m lucky. I know when to stop – with anything – and some people don’t. My father died an alcoholic at the early age of 56. It took him all the way to the ground.

“Seeing that, I didn’t start drinking till I was around 30. And that’s when I discovered fine wines and spirits - very high level booze that’s really exciting to taste.”