Hugh Hefner's Son Cooper Offers $100 Million Cash to Buy Iconic Playboy Brand: 'My Family's Legacy' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Cooper Hefner.Photo:David Becker/Getty

David Becker/Getty

“The opportunity to acquire Playboy is deeply personal for me. This brand is woven into my family’s legacy, and I’ve seen firsthand its cultural impact over the decades,” Cooper tells PEOPLE.

He continues: “Playboy represents more than just a business — it’s a platform for creativity, freedom of expression and storytelling. Professionally, I see immense potential to restore the brand to its roots while innovating for the future and unlocking significant untapped value for investors.”

In 2019, Cooper (who previously served as the chief of global partnerships at Playboy Enterprises and is now a managing partner at VC firm Hefner Capital) left the company to launch his own digital media platform, Hefner Media Corporation. In 2020, Cooperlaunched an ultimately unsuccessful bidfor a state Senate seat in California.

But now, he’s looking to get back into the family business, making a bid “to acquire the intellectual property and brand assets of Playboy Enterprises from its publicly traded parent company, PLBY Group,” reportsThe Hollywood Reporter.

Cooper confirmed the report to PEOPLE, saying in his statement, “In an era where heritage brands with modern relevance are in demand, I believe Playboy can once again lead conversations around lifestyle, entertainment and individual freedom. Our main objective right now is to collaboratively work with the current stakeholders of the business and brand to identify an outcome that works for all.”

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In 1953, Hugh foundedPlayboymagazine, which expanded into a global brand including lounges, apparel and aniconic mansionin the 60-plus years since.

On Sept. 27, 2017, thePlayboymagazine founder and star of E! reality showThe Girls Next Doordied at the age of 91.

At the time of Hugh’s death, Cooper remembered his father as “a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom."

Since Hugh’s death, Playboy ownership has evolved and its iconic magazinewas shuttered in 2020amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the company saying it would shift its focus to digital growth.

Playboy became a publicly traded company in 2021, and its current parent company, PLBY Group, announced plans to relaunch the magazine in February 2025.

“The newPlayboymagazine will feature everything that made the publication iconic: unforgettable photography, renowned features such as the Playboy Interview and Playboy Advisor, celebrity pictorials, and the Playmate Centerfold, which has been a central component ofPlayboysince its inception,” the company said in apress release.

The company also announced it had begun “a worldwide search for the 2024 and 2025 Playmate of the Year and a new class of Playboy Bunnies, who will represent the brand at exclusive events and experiences throughout the year.”

source: people.com