Bono Cashes in on Facebook Social Network Investment
U2 lead singer Bono’s investment in Facebook has paid off spades, soaring past a cool $1 billion.
A principal backer of venture capital firm Elevation Partners, which also counts guitarist The Edge amongst its benefactors, the iconic singer-songwriter has seen a $210 million stake in the social network grow nearly five times over. First acquired in November 2009, the company’s chunk of Mark Zuckberg’s online empire has benefited from repeated rounds of financial valuation, leading to over $800 million in profit given the firm’s most recent $65 billion tally.
Sources say values could continue to rise, leading to even bigger future payouts for Bono and his cohorts, especially if Facebook soon goes public at a $100 billion valuation, as some insiders have speculated. Apparently, as they say, it takes money to make it: Earlier this year, U2 topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid musicians, racking up $195 million in 2010, over $70 and $95 million more, respectively, than next highest earners Bon Jovi and Elton John.