Ryan Leslie could teach us a thing or two about investing in stocks!

The iconic singer/songwriter/producer, responsible for hits like Cassie’s “Me & U,” is also quite the entrepreneur and businessman with an eye for investments. Leslie must’ve known that Apple would become the tech giant that it is today, having first invested in the company back in 2009. In 2018, Apple became the first trillion-dollar company.

According to Complex, the “Addicted” singer’s initial stake of $100,000 reached millions of dollars thanks to a wise lesson from his mentor. 

Leslie detailed exactly how during an episode of the “Earn Your Leisure” podcast stating:

“I remember a conversation I had with my mentor. I said, ‘Hey look, man. I took your advice and man, $100,000 to $350,000. I’mma cash out and get something nice for my mom.’ And he gave me the ultimatum at that time– he said, ‘Ryan,listen. You can go ahead and cash out, give something nice to your mom. We’ll shake hands and I’ll never teach you anything again. Or, you figure out a different way to give something nice to your mom and hold onto that investment, and we’ll check in every single year around tax time and we’ll see what it grow[s] to.’ And when we checked in this year, that $100,000…was just under $16 million.” 

On the podcast, Leslie also revealed why mentorship is so impactful. 

“If it was up to me, I’m looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘Man I’m smart. I made a great investment,” he continued. “It’s given me a great return.’ [But] sometimes, the lens of expertise and the lens of experience can actually provide you wings that allow you to fly further than you can fly on your own.”

It looks like we all need a mentor like the one that Ryan Leslie speaks of — especially when it comes to securing financial wins.