Whenever Beyoncé gets trending, we know that big things are happening.
In this case, Mrs. Knowles-Carter is currently enjoying a musical “Renaissance” as she slowly releases information on her much-anticipated new album. Queen Bey’s devoted fans, the BeyHive, have been getting a special treat on Twitter when they’ve been seeing a unique emoji on the social media platform that’s generated any time someone tweets out something with the hashtag #BeyHive.
That’s right — the hashtag generates a Queen Bee emoji! (Get it?)
But more than just the anticipated music, Beyoncé has given her devoted fans millions of reasons to love her. One doesn’t become a world icon by accident, and one certainly doesn’t generate wealth without making more than a few smart investments along the way. So smart are her investments, in fact, that Bloomberg called the “Homecoming” singer “recession-proof” back in May 2022.
From Uber stock that paid off big time to smart investments in thriving Black-owned businesses, let’s take a look at the many ways that you, too, can invest like Beyoncé.
Editorial note: AfroTech makes no representation about the stock, bond, or mutual fund information provided herein, and neither is the information meant to be construed as financial advice. Consult with a licensed financial professional before investing your money.
Uber Stock
Inside Edition reported that Beyoncé — along with Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashton Kutcher, and Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z — were all early investors in Uber stock.
In fact, in Beyoncé’s case, she got paid in Uber stock — $6 million worth — to perform at a corporate event for the ride-share company back in 2015.
At the time, according to Refinery29, Queen Bey wanted equity in the company over the cash she’d earn in a private performance. So, when Uber went public on the NYSE in 2019 (with a more than $8 billion valuation), her money got longer.
Beyoncé performed for Uber in 2015 and instead of accepting her $6m pay cheque, she requested to be paid in stocks, today it’s worth over $300m. Last year she took half of the $8m from coachella in exchange for the rights to the show, Netflix paid her $60m for it. Her acumen >>> https://t.co/k4un1FM1Ka
— Kelvin Lee Jones (@KelvinLeeJones1) May 14, 2019
While it was initially estimated that Beyoncé received a $300 million windfall from the deal, Uber’s market cap of $67 million and the dilution of the shares probably reportedly netted her an estimated $9 million payday.
Business Investments
AfroTech has previously reported on the vast sundry of Beyoncé’s business investments.
She was a “significant investor” in the $31 million Series A investment of Lemon Perfect, and part of the seed investment round in WTRMLN WTR. Beyoncé also joined Rihanna in investing in the French ready-to-wear brand, Destree. And her first-ever investment was in Sidestep, a company that specializes in merch for the music and entertainment industry.
