Here are the leading Black celebrity investors in the world

In recent days, several Black celebrities have been making money outside their domain of influence. They are not only making money from acting, music, sponsorship deals, albums, sports and Instagram posts. A significant number of them have become investors or venture capitalists, making some of them billionaires and others halfway to becoming billionaires via their investment in popular brands and other potential startups.

Recently, money.co.uk published a list of successful celebrities who double as investors. The list of 30 celebrities included some Black celebrities.

The Celebrity Investments Index analyzed 30 celebrities “based on their business investments to determine which showbiz stars are the most prolific investors and in what investment areas.”

They were surveyed on the following five factors: net worth, number of investments (personal and partner investments), highest investment sum, estimated total amount of funding and average investment sum.

Jay-Z

Billionaire rapper turned entrepreneur Jay-Z topped the chart as the celebrity with the most investments. Jay-Z has made millions from album sales and tour sellouts. However, a significant majority of his wealth comes from his business ventures. His ventures include music, tech and luxurious alcohol brands.

According to money.co.uk, Jay-Z has at least 11 personal and partner investments with a total investment sum of $983m with tech and champagne being his biggest investment areas.

According to Forbes, Jay-Z has a net worth of $1.2 billion.

Oprah Winfrey

The second Black celebrity with the most investment is Oprah Winfrey. The billionaire has a successful media career spanning over 20 years. She has transitioned her talk show into a business and a media empire.

Oprah has a 25.5% stake in cable channel OWN. She also has a 10% stake in Weight Watchers. Her other investment includes Maven clinic, Oatly, Apeel Sciences, True food kitchen and Waywire.

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a music producer and is considered a modern music perfectionist. He began his entrepreneurial journey in 1996 and has since not looked back. He founded Beats and sold it to Apple for $3 billion although he still has 20% stake in it.

Serena Williams

Tennis great Serena Williams through her Serena Ventures has invested in 34 startups over the past five years with 60% of the investments focused on companies founded by women and minorities.

She launched a self-funded, direct-to-consumer clothing line, S by Serena, in 2018. She also owns stakes in the Miami Dolphins and UFC.

Will.i.am

Born Williams Adams, the entrepreneur is a multi-faceted entertainer and creative innovator, and a seven-time Grammy Award winner. In 2017, he invested in and acquired a $4.6 million stake in app-only bank Atom.

He has also dabbled in tech in the last few years, putting money in startups such as the app Knock Knock and launching gadgets such as his own line of headphones.

In 2014, he invested £5m ($6m) in Music Messenger’s Series A round, followed by a further investment of £5m in Shellanoo Group and £3m investment in Honest Dollar.

Nasir Jones

Nasir Jones aka Nas has gradually established himself as one of the most prolific investors in the world. In April, Yahoo News reported that he could be $100 million richer following his 2013 investment in Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange expected to reach over $100 billion in valuation once it hits the Nasdaq.

He is also the founder of QueensBridge Venture Partners. The Los Angeles-based firm has reportedly invested in more than 40 start-ups across a range of sectors like financial technology, health care, and music production.

Some of the firms he has invested in include Lyft, Dropbox, Coinbase, Tradesy, and LANDR, a start-up that uses big data and artificial intelligence to produce music.

Will Smith 

Will Smith is an actor and a movie producer. According to crunchbase, he has made 21 investments across diverse sectors. He has invested in firms such as Superhuman, Titan, Sundae, Sandbox VR, Flockjay among others.

Rihanna

Rihanna is the richest female musician in the world with a net worth of $1.7 billion. Her investment portfolio include her 50% stake in Fenty Beauty which accounts for $1.4 billion of her worth.

The rest of her worth comes from her stake in her lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, worth an estimated $270 million, and her earnings from music and acting.

50 Cent

Beyond music, 50 Cent started investing in other ventures quite early in his music career. He invested in Vitaminwater, which was sold to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion. His other ventures include footwear, headphones, Casper mattresses, Le Chemin du Roi Champagne and Branson Cognac.

Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks is an actress, author, television personality, supermodel, and founder of TZONE. According to crunchbase, Banks has invested in four companies. They include TheSkimm, Videogram, The Muse and Shop Tap Industries.

Beyonce

Aside from music, Beyonce is also a prolific investor. She recently announced that she was investing in a hemp farm to obtain her own CBD.

She also has a partnership with Adidas. The music icon further has a streaming music service and serves as a spokesmodel for L’Oreal. She also promotes Pepsi and is into film production.