The buzz yesterday was that one of the many people who were going to be a lot richer by the end of the day was a rock star who would, in fact, become the richest rock star in the world: Bono the Billionaire. Bono is a managing director of Elevation Partners, a private-equity firm that invests in media, entertainment, and high-tech companies (and is named for the U2 song “Elevation”).
In 2010, after the firm had some uninspiring investments, the online publication 24/7 Wall Street called Bono “the worst investor in America.” Never mind. In 2009, the firm had bought a two-point-three-per-cent stake in Facebook, for ninety million dollars. Yesterday, that stake became worth about one and a half billion dollars, something that early reports excitedly claimed would make Bono richer even than Sir Paul McCartney.
Bono, though, wasn’t buying it. He told Andrea Mitchell, on MSNBC, “This boy is not a billionaire—or going to be richer than any Beatle.” Ever the diplomat, he added, “And not just in the sense of money, by the way. The Beatles are untouchable.” And, of course, he won’t personally be pocketing the take.
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/05/in-the-name-of-friendship.html
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