Dr. Dre Is Not A Billionaire Yet

Although Apple bought his Beats By Dre headphones company a couple of days ago for $3 billion, Dre is not yet worth a Billionaire. Yea, Dre is not the first Hip Hop billionaire. Why? Because he is not the sole owner of the company; he has 25% stake in the company. Experts have calculated how much Dre's set to gain from the Apple deal, added to his current net worth (which is already largely connected to the Beat By Dre company), after taxes, Dre would be worth $790 million. This will make him Hip Hop's richest mogul, but not Hip Hop's first billionaire. 









I hope you understand how I broke it down. Okay, I know I am not an expert at finance, so I am going to let the people at Forbes break it down for you. 

Did Dr. Dre Break Confidentiality Agreement With Apple By Celebrating too Early?

Everyone knows about the deal Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's headphone company, Beats By Dre is rumored to be doing with Apple; the $3.2 million acquisition deal. The news came out a couple of days ago, but it was said to be still in the talks. Until a video hit the Internet two days ago, of Tyrese and Dre in the studio celebrating Dre's new billionaire status. Since the deal has not officially been inked, business experts are saying Dre might have broken confidentiality agreement between Beats By Dre (the company) and Apple. 

HipHopDX got with a business expert/strategic adviser, Corey Davis (MD of White, Weld & Co. Securities), to find out if Dre did break the confidential agreement between he and Apple. Read what he had to say below. 



“While there is a large amount of speculation in the media about a potential deal with Apple and Beats Electronics, there has yet to be any direct confirmation from the parties involved. I reviewed the video of Tyrese and Dr. Dre talking about the ‘first hip hop billionaire’ and changing the Forbes list. A viewer could infer from the media speculation that Dre is referring to his newly found wealth as a result of the rumored deal...The answer to your question regarding whether or not this 'statement' breaks any confidentiality clauses falls into a 'grey' area,”


Mr. Davis went on to say he feels Dre. didn't break any laws.

“There are ethics, there are morals and then there is the law. While I am not a lawyer, one could argue that he didn’t break any laws because (i) even without a deal, the company now has an implied value of $3.2 billion (or more); and (ii) neither Dre or Tyrese mention Apple. I am sure their lawyers aren’t pleased about the video given that it has been removed from Tyrese’s Facebook page...Finally, as a privately held company, any leaks of a deal will not cause the deal price to go up—with the exception that it might entice new bidders to come to the fore. However, if the bankers did their job, you would expect all of the likely buyers to have already been contacted. In fact, their lapse in judgment could have an unintended consequence that could cause the deal to collapse. If investors think a deal between Apple and Beats Electronics doesn’t make sense, they could sell Apple stock causing the share price to decline—sending a strong message to Apple management that they don’t approve. If the deal hasn’t been inked, it could cause management to rethink their decision.” 

Dr. Dre Becomes Hip Hop's First Billionaire

Up until like 3 years ago, Dr. Dre was the last person that people thought would become the first billionaire. Everyone was pinning that on Diddy, or Jay Z...or even 50 Cent, but not Dre. Then he and Jimmy Iovine sold half their stake in Beats By Dre in 2011 to HTC for $300 million, and he made a cool $150 million from the deal. And then in 2013, he and Jimmy Iovine took a $500 million investment loan, and systematically bought back the 50% stake that HTC had earlier purchased...they ended up paying $315 million total for the 50% stake that they sold to HTC. Now, he and Jimmy Iovine, are selling Beats to Apple, and since Dre owns 50% of Beat By Dre, he should make a cool $1.6 million from the deal. Reports have it that he is set to make just about a billion, so I am guessing some other things are attached to the deal...or maybe, that is what he makes after taxes. 






The deal with Apple has been confirmed by a video that Tyrese put on his Facebook yesterday, of he and Dre celebrating in the studio. You can also read more about this below, according to USA Today...








Apple is set to acquire headphone maker and music company Beats Electronics for a reported $3.2 billion. The acquisition could be announced as early as next week, the Financial Times reported, based on people familiar with the negotiations. USA TODAY independently confirmed the deal through a source who is not authorized to speak publicly about it. (USA Today)













Well, what can I say...I am happy for Dre. But...I hope he still owns shares in the company, even if as little as 1% ownership. I just can't imagine myself looking at my brand making money for people and I am not making anything at all from it. Money, no matter how big it is, will always finish if you don't invest it right. Beats By Dre got to the level it got cos of his brand; the Dre brand, that he built over the last 27 years. So, i just see the deal as him selling his brand, which took him 27 years to build. A billion dollars might look big to the onlooker, but if you consider that Apple is going to make money from his brand till eternity (or at least, till the headphones stop selling), then a billion doesn't look so big after all. 





Anyway, check out the video of Dr. Dre and Tyrese in the studio celebrating Dre's big deal. 

When Will A Hip Hop Mogul Hit A Billion

I am really wondering if hip hop moguls like Jay-Z and Diddy are scared of hitting that billion dollar mark. I feel it could be an unconscious limiting belief they don't know about. I mean, Diddy has been worth half a billion for as long as I can remember. I think i can still find that Source magazine edition from back in 2000 that had Diddy and Master P at around half a billion each in individual networth. Master P is nolonger mentioned in the Forbes list as one of the richest Hip Hop moguls, and Diddy has been fluctuating since then; but never going higher than $500 million.





Diddy is currently at the top with a networth of $580 million, and Jay-Z has the number 2 spot with a $475 million. Even Jay has been hovering around that half a billi mark for the last 7 years or so. These two have the most chances of hitting that Billion dollar mark. 50 Cent went from being worth $400 million in 2008, to currently having a networth of $125 million. I am not saying it is an easy thing to hit a billion, but I think these men are already up their, rubbing shoulders with billionaires (Jay-Z having lunches with Warren Buffett), so they should have a billionaire mindset by now. The playing field is pretty much open for them to expand their wealth, unless they are limited in the mind.




I know not every one of the rappers have ambitions of being super rich, but the ones that brag about how much they have must be ashamed of themselves. Like how J.Cole rapped on Mo Money (a track off his Born Sinner album)-  Still broke compared to niggas with old money/I mean the type of niggas that laugh at Hov money/Billionaires with Petroleum and coal money/Probably kill themselves if the had Cole money. What I mean is that since these artists have the ambition of being the richest men on the planet, why are they still not hitting that Billionaire mark? You got Dr. Dre (currently worth $275 million) who has been in the business for over 25 years still working under Jimmy Iovine (Interscope Records C.E.O), like he is scared to do his own independently thing. It still comes down to that limiting people I am talking about.




To even think that the only black billionaire in America is a woman (Oprah Winfrey) is really funny to me. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Diddy, Magic Johnson, and Jay-Z have been hovering around that half a billionaire mark for years now. With all the popularity and money they have, i just believe these people should have hit that Billionaire dollar mark by now. I mean, America is a capitalist narion, and with a huge population of 300 million people, there is a higher chance for them to hit that billi mark. There are many fields they can branch into; they already have the money to throw into different fields. I think they need to stop thinking of fast money (endorsement deals), and start thinking long money, like residual income type of money. And they need to start owning more of their shit.

Baby Aspiring To Be A Billionaire

Baby, real name Brian Williams, part C.E.O of Cash Money Records has come forward to talk on his aspirations of being a billionaire. I think that is a tall order but it is not impossible. I know Jay-Z and P.DIddy have also been trying to achieve that status for like a decade now. Baby started Cash Money records in the mid 90s with his brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams, and has had many platinum selling rappers on the label like Juvenile, Young Turk, Lil Wayne, B.G...And most recently- Drake and Nicki Minaj.

Baby was estimated to worth be $100 earlier this year and he came forward to say he didn't know how Forbes calculated it, but he was sure he is worth more than that.


"I just felt $100 million was low,” he told Forbes. “With all the different entities, I think I should still be a lot more than that. $500 million. $250 million, easy … As a child I always felt if I could make $1 million, I could make $100 million. If I could get $100 million, I’m just nine steps away from being a billionaire. And that’s the goal.”



“I’ve been thinking, Donald Trump and Bill Gates, they made a billion off one idea, So every day we’re trying to brainstorm on that idea to get that billion.”




“A lot of my peers that did this before me, they got the bad end of the dea.They was always funded by the machine, by the label, and never owned nothing … I never wanted us to be artists who, when it’s over, we’re broke, back where we come from, just simply because you sign some shit that say you don’t own nothing.”

I think if he is this determined to achieve billionaire status, he would definitely get that one idea he needs soon enough. There aren't many black billionaires of legitimate means, so, i think it would be wonderful if he achieves his goal. But he can also think of the old fashion way and keep stacking and re-investing his money, instead of buying ostentatious goods that might be more liability than assets. Earlier this year, he alerted his followers via twitter that he had just bought a custom Maybach Exelero for $8 million. That money can be tripled in a year with the right investments.