Could Nas be Hip Hop’s next billionaire?
Thanks to a series of smart investments, Nas is rapidly becoming one of Hip Hop’s most astute businessmen.
His Queensbridge Venture Partners was an early investor in tech company Ring, which manufactures WiFi cameras and doorbells, and has now potentially earned him a pretty substantial amount of money in the millions of dollars.
It was announced earlier this week that Ring had been acquired by Amazon for $1 billion, therefore creating a windfall for Nas’ VC firm, who, alongside Richard Branson and Upfront Ventures, were an early investor in the company.
Ring, a company originally rejected by Shark Tank, has gained serious traction in the market over the past several years garnering over 2 million customers and earning over $160 million in revenue in 2016.
The L.A. Times says the sale of Ring is the biggest exit for a Los Angeles-based company since the sale of Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion in 2016.
Another company Nas’s Queensbridge Venture Partners has invested in is the highly successful Bevel, the revolutionary shaving system designed specifically for men of colour.
Other investors in the grooming brand include Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, Melo7 Tech Partners and individual investors Magic Johnson, John Legend and King Bach.
