While Diddy is getting his honorary doctorate from Howard University, Dr. Dre had his eyes set on making $3.2 billion from a Beats deal. Which would make Dr. Dre the first hip hop billionaire, almost…
Dr. Dre leapfrogged Jay Z in FORBES’ latest rankings of hip-hop’s richest artists, claiming the number two position as his net worth soared to an estimated $550 million. Now it looks like the Beats cofounder could lay claim to the top spot in a matter of days.
Late Thursday night, the Financial Times reported that Apple AAPL -0.77% was in talks to buy Beats for $3.2 billion; the deal would be the computer giant’s largest acquisition ever. Dre’s stake in Beats currently stands at somewhere around 20-25%; we valued the company at $2 billion in our latest round of estimates.
A sale for $3.2 billion would nearly double the value of Dre’s holdings, though capital gains taxes could take a bite out of his big payday, likely leaving him with a net worth in the neighborhood of $800 million. It’s not quite enough to land on the Forbes 400, but it would easily make him hip-hop’s richest man, topping current champion Diddy by $100 million.
That was a really smart business move on his part. He learned how to play the game in Corporate America like the Big Whigs. Big Ups to Dre.
I’m happy for Dr. Dre, I know that Diddy will find a way to leapfrog him as soon as he can. I don’t know if Dr. Dre’s deal or 50 Cent’s deal with Vitamin Water was a product of savvy business or just being in the right place at the right time. It’s almost like Jay-Z and Rocawear… Dre, 50 or Jay weren’t responsible for why those businesses were successful, they received a share because their name helped pushed the product. However, for an $800 million endorsement deal… I got to give all the credit to Dr. Dre.