U2 singer has more than two-percent stake in Facebook, worth $1.5 billion.
By Gil Kaufman
Bono
Photo: ShowBizIreland/ Getty Images
Talk about a "Beautiful Day." Once the smoke clears from Friday's (May 18) Facebook IPO , U2 singer Bono could be the richest musician on the planet.
According to England's NME, the already flush, tech-savvy Irish rock icon owns 2.3 percent of the shares of Facebook through his investment group, Elevation Partners. Well before Facebook filed papers to go public, Elevation paid $90 million for the shares in 2009 and after what is expected to be the second-biggest IPO in history, Bono's share could be worth more than $1.5 billion.
As Rolling Stone pointed out, Bono will split any Facebook riches with his partners at Elevation (whose number is not known), so his total haul is undetermined. Also, the singer has reportedly pledged to use much of the money raised from his investments to aid charity work in Africa.
Though some are reporting that Elevation Partners' expected windfall would make Bono the richest rocker alive, this is not necessarily true, as the money will be split among various investors and partners associated with the group. It should also be noted that Bono would not be allowed to sell all his shares at once, and the singer has said that money raised from his investments will largely be directed to his philanthropic work in Africa.
With a gang of records already in pocket, the one-day take could give the singer bragging rights of a different sort as well. If the calculations are correct (a spokesperson for the band could not be reached by MTV News at press time for confirmation) then Bono would surpass former Beatle Paul McCartney as the world's richest rock star. McCartney's vast fortune is estimated to be around $1.05 billion.
NME also reported that U2 are said to be working the songwriters behind British boy band One Direction, including Swedish pop writer Carl Falk, who wrote the group's breakthrough hit, "What Makes You Beautiful."
An unnamed source told the magazine, "The band are back in the studio getting a feel for new material after the last album 'No Line On The Horizon'. Will.i.am had a credit on that and they are looking to explore that direction further. They have been working with Danger Mouse and RedOne. They are excited about getting to work with Carl Falk."
U2 have also logged studio time with EDM star David Guetta on songs for one of three new albums they've been talking about releasing.
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