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George Clooney

George Clooney gifted 14 of his closest friends with $1 million each to help them through tough times.

The Ocean's Eleven star is known for his philanthropy, but back in 2013, he decided to share his wealth with his best pals to show them just how grateful he was for their love and support.

One of the lucky recipients was his good friend and business partner Rande Gerber, who recalled the actor's generous gift during a recent appearance on news show Headliners.

"There's a group of guys that we call 'The Boys'," Rande explained. "George had called me and 'The Boys' and said, 'Hey, mark September 27, 2013 on your calendar. Everyone's going to come to my house for dinner'."

When they arrived at Clooney's Los Angeles pad, they found black designer suitcases placed at each table setting, filled with "a million dollars in $20 bills".

Rande continued, "George begins to say, 'Listen, I want you guys to know how much you've meant to me and how much you mean to me in my life. I came to L.A., I slept on your couch. I'm so fortunate in my life to have all of you and I couldn't be where I am today without all of you. So, it was really important to me that while we're still all here together, that I give back. So I want you all to open your suitcases.'

"Every one of us - 14 of us - got a million dollars. Every single one of us."

"He goes, 'I know we've all been through some hard times, some of you are still going through it. You don't have to worry about your kids, you don't have to worry about, you know, school, you don't have to worry about paying your mortgage,'" he recalled, revealing one of the guys had been working at an airport bar in Texas to try and provide for his family.

Rande, who is married to supermodel icon Cindy Crawford and co-owns the Casamigos Tequila brand with George, tried to refuse the cash, only for the movie star to declare to the group: "I'm just going to make one announcement. If Rande doesn't take the million dollars, nobody gets it."

He ended up donating the money to charity, and Rande is convinced George's continued good fortune, including his marriage to human rights attorney Amal exactly one year later, is all down to "good karma".

"This is who George is," he smiled.

The story emerges as George and Amal are back in the headlines for reportedly giving out noise-canceling headphones to fellow passengers on a recent flight to the U.K. to apologise in advance for their babies' crying, according to the New York Post's Page Six gossip column.