The legacy of the late Bob Marley remains prevalent.
Bob’s musical influence extends globally, with Rolling Stone recognizing “Exodus,” his ninth studio album with the Wailers, as No. 48 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” in December 2023.
What’s more, his story is currently being told in a biopic across movie theaters. “Bob Marley: One Love” has earned $71.1 million domestically and $120.5 globally, according to Entertainment Weekly and Comscore (at the time of this writing).
Though his life was cut short at 36, following a battle with malignant melanoma, the Marley family continues to carry the torch of their father while also carving their own paths.
At the time of his death, Bob did not have a will, and his inheritance was given to his wife, Rita, and 11 children. As AFROTECH previously told you, with that financial investment in each of his children, many have built on that foundation with net worths now reportedly set in the multi-millions.
This includes Rohan Marley, who is involved in the coffee, cannabis, and hospitality industries, among others. While many of the children have chosen respective paths in music, Rohan was the only child who did not follow suit. In fact, his initial dream was to become a professional soccer player for Jamaica.
However, the dream of joining the athlete world would eventually fade after Rohan received an ultimatum from his brother Ziggy while recovering from an injury.
“This is when I got into business. My brother Ziggy, he asked me a question one day. He says, ‘Lemme ask you something. What do you wanna do? Business or football?'” Rohan recalled on the show “Drink Champs.” “Because I thought that after I rehabilitated myself, I was gonna move to LA and try out for LA Galaxy.”
At the time, Rohan was 31 years old and was also working on apparel line Tuff Gong Clothing, which would be an investment of $8,000.
“I was designing Tuff Gong Clothing at the time. So he said, ‘Business or football?’ I gotta make a choice. So in my mind, I think ‘I’m like 31 years old,'” Rohan mentioned on Drink Champs. “So I had to make a decision. But what made me think even faster was, I’m f-cking too old…They’re gonna bench me. I’m gonna be frustrated… I can’t go through that again.”
He added, “So I had to choose business, and that’s when I became an entrepreneur. It was when I had that ultimatum right there from my brother Ziggy. And that’s from like Tuff Gong Clothing, Marley Coffee, RoMarley Beach House. I got my own cannabis company now, Lion Order out of Michigan, Detroit. So I’m doing a lot of things.”
Rohan’s business ventures have led him to amass an impressive net worth of $20 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Among his lucrative ventures previously mentioned is his foray into the coffee business. The decision to enter the industry came after he received $200,000 in royalties from his father’s music, which he would use to purchase a 52-acre property in Jamaica that his friend had stumbled upon, per Fast Company.
“The first thing I saw was all the fruits — apple, starfruit, pineapple — tons of fruit growing wildly, and I was seeing all the food going to waste,” Rohan told the outlet. “While I’m walking, I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this land is really fertile.’ When I approached the river, I couldn’t believe my eyes that this property was in Jamaica. Here’s this beautiful piece of property for sale — I thought it was a conspiracy.”
After speaking with locals to understand more about the region for insight on how to utilize the land, coffee was a top contender. However, Rohan would experience several challenges. It took him eight years to apply for an export license, organic certification, and a coffee-growers license, Fast Company notes. He would eventually walk away from the venture after feedback from a local coffee roaster.
“I gave my coffee to a roaster in Jamaica — I gave him 1,000 pounds — and he never returned the bag. He said it was all bad coffee,” Marley remembers. “I decided this wasn’t working for me.”
However, Rohan would undergo a transformative experience a few years later during a trip to Ethiopia, reigniting his passion. Following this journey, he educated himself further and spearheaded the creation of Marley Coffee, successfully cultivating Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee on his Jamaican estate. However, supply on the land is limited, so Rohan also purchases coffee from other countries such as Ethiopia.
Marley Coffee offers beans, ground coffee, and single-serve cups, according to Fast Company. Additionally, certain products pay homage to his father, bearing names such as One Love, Lively Up!, and Get Up, Stand Up.
Today, the company’s products are available for purchase online and in grocery stores throughout Canada, and can be found on Amazon for U.S. customers.
According to Kona Equity, the company is fairing well with an annual revenue of approximately $11. 2 million.
