Nas sold over 15 million records in the U.S.during his professional career as a rapper and songwriter. The rapper may go down in history as one of the greatest singers/rappers turned investors of all time.
What Happened: An early investment in 2013 into the now-defunct brand Mass Appeal didn’t turn into financial success for Nas but it set the table for what was to come.
The Mass Appeal investment led to Nas meeting Andreesen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz who bonded with him over a love of hip-hop and investing. Horowitz encouraged Nas to launch his own venture capital firm.
Nas launched QueensBridge Venture Partners as a result.
“You invest your time, you can invest money and it was just a matter of time before it all fell into place for me. That’s one of the things I thought a lot about as a young kid —the guys behind the scenes who make things happen, help build people up, make dreams come true,” Nas told Fast Company in an interview.
Related Link: Here's How Much Coinbase Early Investors Made From The Largest Direct Listing In History
Investments: Nas has a net worth of $70 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, but that figure could continue to rise if Nas’s investments continue to go public or get bought out.
Nas was an investor in Dropbox IncDBX, Casper Sleep Inc CSPR and Lyft Inc LYFT.
Nas is also an investor in privately held SeatGeek.
PillPack and Ring, two investments made by Nas, were acquired by Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. The two acquisitions earned more than $40 million for the venture capitalfund. Another investment PlutoTV was acquired by ViacomCBS Inc VIAC.
Earlier this year, Nas made headlines when Coinbase Global Inc COIN went public. Nas was an investor in the company in 2013when it was valued at $143 million in a Series B round. Nas’s investment is worth between $35 million and $100million depending on the original investment size.
Nas’s VC invests between $100,000 and $500,000 in each company according to reports.
Robinhood Investment: In 2013, Nas and Snoop Dogg invested in Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD, a new financial services companyfeaturingcommission-free trading to disrupt the market.
At the time of the investment, Robinhood was valued at $62 million. Robinhood was valued at $32 billion Thursday at the time of its initial price offering.
The Robinhood IPO is another example of Nas having a keen eye for investments that could pay off in the long run. Nas could be the greatest rapper alive for his investments.
Price Action: HOOD shares are down 8.37% to $34.82on Thursday.
Photo: YouTube still from Nas video
© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
FAQs
Nasir Jones' QueensBridge Venture Partners invested in 2013.
What company did Nas invest in? ›
Here are some of the companies he has invested in, along with their valuations: Dropbox- $10 billion valuation, Lyft- $5.5 billion valuation, Tilt- $400 million valuation, and Robinhood-raised $50 million in Series B. He was also an early investor in Ring, the smart doorbell company.
Why Robinhood is bad? ›
Robinhood is a good platform for active trading and provides commission-free trades on all investments. But it's lacking in some areas, such as the number of accounts it offers and the fact it doesn't let you invest in certain popular asset classes such as bonds and mutual funds.
Did Nas invest in Coinbase? ›
An early investor in the company, the rapper's stake is worth at least $40 million. The cryptocurrency exchange was valued at $99.6 billion today when trading began and reached a valuation of over $100 billion in minutes.
How much did Nas get from Coinbase? ›
Nas' stake in Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase is estimated to be around $40 million.
Is NAS coin a good investment? ›
Is Nebulas a good investment? Nebulas proved to be one of the most talked about coins in the crypto space this past year. With this in mind, it is wise to say that NAS is a good choice of investment.
Is Nas part owner of Coinbase? ›
Nas' investment firm became an early backer of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase back in 2013. On Wednesday, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will make its initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
What is Nas investment? ›
NAS INVEST IS AN INDEPENDENT INVESTMENT PLATFORM MANAGING REAL ASSETS ON BEHALF OF ITS INSTITUTIONAL AND PRIVATE INVESTORS.
Why is Nas so successful? ›
He's a Brilliant Storyteller
Storytelling is a poetic device that separates the greats from everyone else. Scarface, Slick Rick, The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas are arguably the greatest storytellers in hip-hop. Nas' greatest strength is his window-view style – the ability to put the listener on the scene.
Why is Robinhood not a good brokerage? ›
Robinhood's range of offerings is extremely limited in that it only offers stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency trading. Robinhood doesn't support mutual funds or fixed-income products, and you can't trade commodities, forex, or futures. If you choose Robinhood as your broker, you can invest in: Stocks, long only.
It added 120,000 customers to end the quarter with 23.1 million, ahead of expectations for 23.05 million. Robinhood is still losing money, posting a net loss of $511 million in the quarter. But most of that loss was because of an accounting change related to a decision by the company's founders to cancel a stock award.
Are there problems with Robinhood? ›
The trading platform, which just reported billions in losses for 2021, is still contending with lawsuits, trading restrictions and regulatory scrutiny.
Is Coinbase backed by the US government? ›
It is your responsibility to use a strong password and maintain control of all login credentials you use to access Coinbase. Cryptocurrency is not legal tender and is not backed by the government.
Is Coinbase backed by anything? ›
Cryptocurrency is not legal tender and is not backed by the government. Coinbase is not an FDIC-insured bank and cryptocurrency is not insured or guaranteed by or subject to the protections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), and may lose value.
Who owns most of Coinbase? ›
Who owns Coinbase? As of 7 October 2022, institutional investors own 47.89% of Coinbase's shares. Marc Andreessen is the company's largest individual shareholder, owning a 6.32% stake in the company in addition to shares held by his investment firm, Andreessen Horowitz.
Who were the early investors in Coinbase? ›
In May 2013, the company received a US$5 million Series A investment led by Fred Wilson from the venture capital firm Union Square Ventures. In December the same year, the company received a US$25 million investment, from the venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures (USV), and Ribbit Capital.
How much did NAS make off crypto? ›
Nas Could Earn $100 Million From Cryptocurrency Investment.
Who has invested in Coinbase? ›
Top 10 Owners of Coinbase Global Inc
| Stockholder | Stake | Shares owned |
|---|
| The Vanguard Group, Inc. | 7.17% | 13,390,659 |
| ARK Investment Management LLC | 6.49% | 12,121,881 |
| Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. | 4.91% | 9,166,044 |
| Nikko Asset Management Americas, ... | 4.44% | 8,298,784 |
6 more rowsAn early investment that Nas made on a smart doorbell company is now paying off. As one of the first investors in Ring, a doorbell security company, Nas will now receive over $40 million now that the company has been acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion, according to a report from webuyblack.com.
