Kevin Costner, Top Speaker to Impact Bucharest

Impact Bucharest, presented by Mastercard, returns between September 17-18 with the second edition, which is even more spectacular. Special guests include Kevin Costner – actor, director and film producer, also appreciated for his success in business.

His story shows that success is achieved by taking risks, thinking in the long term and remaining faithful to his own values ​​and dreams – including the « creative » ones.

In college, while studying finance and marketing and playing baseball, he began to think seriously about becoming an actor. One day, during a trip by plane, he met with Richard Burton, an actor nominated seven times at Oscar, and asked him a question for a long time: « Do you think I have the chance to succeed in Hollywood? ». Burton replied: « I think yes. »

This is how the story of Kevin Costner – actor, director, but also film producer and businessman begins.

After the appearance in the movie « The Untouchables » Brian de Palma’s, became an official star and decided to invest the earnings quickly. Studies in Finance and Marketing have proven extremely useful. Set up a production house, and his first film, « Dances with Wolves »was an immediate success at Box Office. Costner not only played in the movie, but also directed. He won two Oscars (for acting and director), and the film received a total of seven prizes of the Academy. Its company has produced other hits like « Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves » and « The Bodyguard »with Whitney Houston in the lead role – movies in which Costner has played leading roles and which generated huge winnings. In 2018, he returned in force on the big screens in the role of the unwavering leader of a farm in « Yellowstone ». He received a Golden Globe for this role, but the success story does not stop here, because Kevin Costner was also the executive producer of the series, who enjoyed a spectacular success.

In addition to his career in film production, over the years, the actor has made numerous inspired investments, which allowed him to capitalize on his earnings from the film industry. Costner has a huge farm in Aspen (Colorado, USA) and luxury real estate in California. He also invested his money in a company that developed a technology for cleaning oil leaks, was the owner of a casino, and in 2020 he joined the application of Hearthera travel, launched by Woody Sears, as co-founder, podcast narrator and investor. For many years, the actor also has been working on his most personal project: Western in several parts « Horizon: An American Saga » (The first part, « Chapter 1 », He premiered in 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival). Costner has invested no less than $ 38 million in his own money in this project, among others, mortifying a house worth $ 50 million in Santa Barbara. « I was never afraid to go against the current », He says, emphasizing that he wants to leave behind more than a lot of money. He likes to talk about all his successes (and sometimes about failures).

Whether he talks about the hardships of the artist’s life or about the challenges in the business world, he always manages to leave his amused, inspired and deeply connected audience to his story. Participants in Impact Bucharest, presented by Mastercard, the most important event in Southeast Europe, which will take place on September 17-18 in the Romanian capital, will have the chance to discover this personal.

Impact events are recognized throughout Europe as unique meeting places for business, political, culture and science leaders, being organized in Poland since 2016. The second edition of Impact Bucharest, presented by MasterCard, will be the largest and most important event in South-East Europe. It offers not only a unique opportunity to listen to the opinions of experts in various fields, but also the chance to make networking with leaders from all over Europe.

Why Romania?

With a 3.5%GDP growth rate, Romania is among the three fastest development in Central and Eastern Europe. According to a report made for the impact by the economist Michal Kulbacki in Xyz, Romania had the second largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe in 2023.

« According to the forecasts, in 2035 the income per capita in Romania could reach the average of the European Union. One of the impact objectives is to accelerate this process. We believe that this is possible, especially if there is the right type of cooperation » say Krystian Wolak, initiator and creator impact. « We enjoy the increasing presence of impact in this part of Europe and we consider it an important achievement. Our events bring leaders from the world of business, technology and politics, as well as representatives of the big corporations, startups and investors. region ”, add it.

Within the event, several formats are planned-from stage speeches and discussions, the competition for startups impact arena, workshops and round tables, to less formal activities, such as the Networking La Cocktail.

Impact Bucharest, presented by Mastercard, takes over

After the success of last year’s edition, this year will be even higher, gaining more traction. About 2,000 participants from Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Albania, the EEA, but also from Poland and other European countries are expected. This year, in addition to renowned experts and leaders from the business environment, several representatives of the public sector in Romania and from the countries of South-East Europe-from mayors of cities to representatives of governments and European agencies were also invited. There will be discussions about economic development, innovation and how the connection of local, regional and global ecosystems can benefit Romania. On the agenda there will be various topics from defense and cyber security, sustainable transformation, digitalization, future cities, until the development of global economy and banking sector, leadership, health, marketing and digital trade.

Tickets for the event will be available from May 21, 2025 on www.impactbucharest.com.

About Mastercard

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