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How Jay Z Started His Entrepreneurial Projects

  

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In this article, we will explore an inspiring example of a great entrepreneur, Jay Z. We start with the 1) introduction and going then to 2) how Jay Z started his entrepreneurial projects and 3) golden secrets of Jay Z’s success.

INTRODUCTION

With a current net value of $520 million, Shawn Carter (Jay Z) was bought up in the darkest corners of Brooklyn, New York. He was born on 4 December, 1969 and was the last one in his siblings. When he was only 11 years old, his father left the family, and he was single handedly brought up by his mother, Gloria Carter.
Since a very young age, Jay Z had experienced poverty, violence, and drugs in his surroundings. Therefore, rap served an escape from all the negativity he was facing in his life. Some of his songs also have a reminiscence of his childhood, which reflect the way he felt back then.
At an early age, between choosing to get a low-paying ‘decent’ job, he opted to get a high-paying ‘indecent job’ – drug selling. Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, his place of upbringing, was heavily infested with drug abuse and hence it soon became a money prospect for the young Shawn Carter. It all ended when he surrendered himself completely to rap music.
Right after he collaborated with Jaz-O to record “The Originators”, he adapted the name Jay Z, as he was called Jazzy back in his childhood.
He started to earn a good name when he founded Roc-A-Fella Records with two of his friends, Kareem Burke and Damon Dash in 1996. This made his album ‘Reasonable Doubt’ a possibility. This is the stepping-stone in Jay Z’s career, and then there was no looking back. It developed him as a rising star in the hip-hop industry.
The album Hard Knock Life brought recognition and success in his life, and the title song of the album won Jay Z his first ever Grammy nomination. This was followed by numerous hit singles and top ranking albums. The Blueprint became the most renowned album in that era. Some of his hit singled included “I Just Wanna Love U”, “03 Bonnie & Clyde” and “Big Pimpin”.
Jay Z has sold around 100 million records worldwide making him one of the best-selling artists in the world. He has also been nominated for various awards and has received 19 Grammy Awards to date.

HOW JAY Z STARTED ENTREPRENEURIAL PROJECTS

Jay Z is not just a rap artist who has stumbled upon an exciting net value – he is a businessman and a true entrepreneur. In fact, he can be directly compared to Warren Buffett as both of them are counted amongst the richest men in the world. However, Buffett could just wish that his life was half as interesting as that of Jay Z’s.
The rapper Jay Z of the older times who was primarily known as a recording artist is now known in the world as an intelligent multi-millionaire investor. Not only does he enjoy the great success of his record label, he also invests huge profits in different industries. He has built a whole empire single-handedly, and he runs it without a flaw.
You think that two leaders cannot make it work together in life? Well, Jay Z and Beyonce are here just to prove that wrong. In 2008, both of these powerhouses decided to tie a knot and have ever since worked towards earning huge profits and success in everything they do.
Here is Jay Z’s portfolio of investments that led him to expand his empire:

Roc-A-Fella Records

No one can take the glory of Roc-A-Fella Records away from Jay Z. He founded the label along with two of his friends as they began from the ground. Starting a label from the scratch is never an easy thing to do but the overwhelming talent of Jay Z ensured that he quickly built up an audience as other labels began calling into this newly found label legend. He maintained ownership rights of his whole catalog, which means that even after all of these years, Jay Z is receiving dividends of his early music that is being sold in the market.
Def Jam paid an overwhelming $10 million to buy Roc-A-Fella Records in 2004. Jay Z was still the President and CEO of Def Jam as he continued growing his wealth alongside with other artists belonging to the label, such as Kanye West working towards the Platinum sales of their records.

Rocawear

For Jay Z, it was not all about being the proud owner of a successful record label. Therefore, along with Damon Dash, he took a leap from music to the clothing industry and hence Rocawear was founded in 1999. In just a matter of 8 years, the brand was purchased by Iconix Brand Group for a gigantic $204 million. Following his style, Jay Z is still the CEO of the brand. In 2007, the brand made sales worth $700 million. That is the power of Jay Z; everything he touches becomes gold.

40/40 Club

After music and the clothing industry, Jay Z was all set for investing in nightlife. The 40/40 Club was founded in 2003 in New York City. Whenever you enter the bar, you will see ESPN playing on the screen as it is a top-notch sports bar. He is a frequent visitor of his bar and loves to hang out there in his free time. Just like everything else that Jay Z has put his hands into, the bar has also tremendously grown and expanded. The club has multiplied to various locations and has just piled up more returns for this super mind-set entrepreneur.

Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn Nets is one of the most high profile investments made by Jay Z. He is a stake holder in the Nets NBA Franchise and has thus revolutionized the team ever since he became a part of it. His involvement in the team was particularly publicized when it was moved to Brooklyn, Jay Z’s hometown. Moreover, their uniforms were changed (for the better), and new branding strategies were adapted for the team.
In 2013, Jay Z sold his stake against a high return of investment of 135%. It took him 9 years to gain a return of $2.35 million for the initial $1 million that he invested. Forbes even compared this return to the business-minded attitude of Warren Buffett.
He sold his share because after exploring great success in music, nightlife and clothing, he was all set to do something big in the sports industry. In 2013, Roc Nation Sports was launched by Jay Z through collaborating with CAA to handle the marketing operations and representation of athletes.
It was a legal requirement for him to sell his stake if he wanted to pursue the sports agent industry, and that is exactly what he did. Not only did this enable him to gain a huge profit but also gave him a chance to start something of his own in the sports industry.

Barclays Center

Mr. Carter knows how to put his money to great use. Therefore, as he was selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets, he shifted his stake in the Barclays Center. Barclays Center is of the of the world’s most intriguing and fresh arenas. It is expanding its horizons as the Nets is gaining incredible popularity in Brooklyn. Apart from that, it also hosts high-end events like it hosted the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
The financial gurus say that if you are successful in one investment, it will just transcend into other future investments and Jay Z has truly practiced this art and wisdom. All of his investments have been successful, and he has just expanded his empire with his queen like a total boss. He has left an incredible mark not only on the music industry but also the apparel, sports and nightlife industry. Therefore, his glory is not just limited to music.

Aspiro

The tale of his amazing investments is still continuing with Jay Z bidding a great sum of money on the Sweden-based company – Aspiro. This was just reported earlier this year and is predicted to give Jay Z strong foothold in the immensely expanding industry of streaming music and enable him to compete with well-known players such as Spotify and Apple. The bid was a whooping offer of a $56 million and it was made through a company known as Project Panther, which is indirectly controlled by Jay Z. The reports show that the offer has already received the basic acceptance by the company.

GOLDEN SECRETS OF JAY Z’s SUCCESS

Recording artists come and go, and the record industry is famous for exploiting musicians and giving them a few seconds of fame before they could bid farewell to them.
Obviously, Jay Z was never the type.
In the past 20 years, Shawn Carter has earned a net value of $520 million while taking the music industry by the storm. He has toured and had hit records, but the real money has come from the businesses that he invested in as he founded Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear.
Here are some work ethics of Jay Z that can fuel up some enthusiasm in the future entrepreneurs.

#1: Know the art of hustling

The work ethic that Jay Z embodies is his only hustle. It is a cliché, but Jay Z is all about working hard along with working smart. He was inspired by the hard work of his mother as he saw her raising four children single-handedly. Marcy Projects – the area he belonged to did not present a lot of opportunity to people like Shawn. Therefore, he decided to do the dirty work rather than choosing the clean path – drug dealing.
His ambition was clear to him even as a drug dealer. He had his eyes on fame and rapping as he relentlessly practiced rapping techniques with his friend Jaz.

#2: Get on the road even if your hands are empty

Jay Z did not have professional music equipment in his early years, and that did not stop him from creating rap beats. Rock-A-Fella records did not have air-conditioning, computers, and desks when it first started and grew out to be one of the most successful record labels in the world.
Focus is Jay Z’s forte, and he believes that if you truly want something, you should just go for it and become serious about it rather than waiting for the right time. Circumstances do not always have to be perfect in order for an entrepreneur to do well in life and to achieve his goals and dreams.

#3: Help yourself first

People will only help you if they see that you are actively pursuing a goal and helping your self. However, that will not happen if you are just seeking help without ever helping your self. Jay Z’s mother bought him a boom box as a birthday present after seeing him play tunes on the kitchen table. It would not have happened if Jay Z kept silent. Therefore, it is important to show passion in things and work towards them in order to achieve excellence.

#4: Do not discuss your goals too much

While Jay Z was struggling as an artist, his friend Jaz reached EMI’s record deal. At this point, Jay Z knew what he wanted – to sign a record deal. He shared the idea with his crew members, and they were all discouraging saying that the music industry just uses artists and musicians. Jay Z did not give way to their negativity and stayed focused on what he wanted. He also learned a great lesson: to not talk too much about his plans with people.
Sometimes, when your vision is too huge, people have a difficulty accepting it and are, therefore, doubtful and discouraging about it. Therefore, Jay Z worked hard silently and kept his aims to himself because he knew his potential and what he could achieve in his life. Although it might be tempting to talk to other people about your plans, just keep them to yourself until you start gaining success.

#5: Experience matters

Jay Z founded companies that are worth $100 million and has served as Budweiser Select’s co-brand director, which makes him a top-of-the-line entrepreneur and businessman. However, he never attended business school.
Jay Z learned all of the business skills from the streets he was living on. He learned how to promote, manage a business and how to make sales from the streets and thus was able to perform many roles as an entrepreneur. Experience does more miracles in the practical world than education and therefore one should never let go the chance of utilizing their talents in different fields and gaining relevant experience.

#6: Take rejections positively

Jay Z tried his level best to hit a deal with numerous labels in the industry and faced rejections from all of them. Did that stop his journey? No. Instead, he founded his record label. Iceberg Apparel offered Jay Z a low-paying endorsement although his promotion for their clothing line was heavily boosting their sales. Well, no. Instead, he founded his clothing line and gained $200 million through selling it after ten years.
Jay Z always bounced back amazingly from rejections and shone like a star. You can either let rejections destroy you or make you successful, and the decision is completely yours.

#7: Have a plan

When Roc-A-Fella Records was found in 1994, all of the three partners created business plans – both long term and short term. They kept their predictions realistic and wrote everything down which made the visualization easy.
Writing down business plans helps to develop focus and makes it seamless to achieve goals.

#8: Dream Big

In his childhood years when he was being raised in Marcy Projects, no one could have told him that one day he would become a millionaire. Thinking big is the only way to achieve big in life. You get all you want and strive for in life so if you are struggling as a junior artist, that is all what you will be. Jay Z dreamed big and gave it all that he had.

9- Value your mentors

Artists and entrepreneurs are strong-headed individuals. Jay Z is both – an artist and an entrepreneur but that has not stopped him from valuing his mentors and asking them for help.
Having successful and helpful mentors mean that you will not face the issues they faced in their lives, and the way of success will be easier for you. Mentors are very important in showing you direction and guiding you on important matters.
Jay Z’s mentors comprise of big names such as the Co-Founder of Def Jam Records – Russell Simmons, The Notorious B.I.G, and Michael Jordan.

#10: Be a Trend Setter

Auto-tune was the biggest trend in hip-hop in 2009. Jay Z could have followed the trend, but he did not. Instead, he broke it and introduced his style in his hit single ‘Death of Auto-Tune’. It was off-pitch, noisy and dissonant. For Jay Z, if you adapt a style which does not define who you are as a person, then it will not work out for you. Therefore, it is important to find your style and voice for long-term success. You can be more successful through doing what you are passionate about rather than following the trends.

#11: Entrepreneurship makes you help the world

As an entrepreneur, Jay Z has had numerous opportunities of making a significant change in the world.
Jay Z and P Diddy donated $1 million to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. He also pledged to assist the promotion of the global water shortage through his upcoming world tour after meeting with Kofi Annan – United Nations Secretary General in 2006.
Barack Obama asked him to support his campaign in 2008 as a presidential candidate. Jay Z did concerts to spread the word to get votes for him. Therefore, Jay Z has played a significant role in electing USA’s first black president in the history.
Jay Z could have chosen to keep on selling drugs for the rest of his life and it might have earned him good money, but he had his eyes on the bigger picture. If he had not set his feet to become an entrepreneur, he would not have gotten the chance to help the world in a way that he did.
Image credit: Flickr | ultra 5280 under Attribution 2.0 Generic.

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http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/16/meeting-between-jay-z-and-samsung-could-forecast-tidal-acquisition/



arnaud massartic

Meeting Between Jay Z And Samsung Could Forecast Tidal Acquisition

Posted Oct 16, 2015 by Jordan Crook (@jordanrcrook)

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Notifications Summit: Session 1

It would appear that Jay Z, rap legend and Tidal music screaming service owner, has been hanging out with the folks over at Samsung.
According to a report from Variety, Jay Z had a meeting in Samsung’s Silicon Valley office on Wednesday with a number of executives, including Daren Tsui, Samsung’s SVP of content and services.
Of course, a meeting does not an acquisition make. However, Milk Music (Samsung’s streaming music service which has failed to gain any major traction) conducts operations out of the same building where Jay Z and Tsui met. Also worth noting: Tsui’s title as head of content and services puts him squarely in charge of Samsung’s music offerings.
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If you’ve somehow erased the memory of Jay Z (and a cohort of other celebrities) launching Tidal, let’s have a quick refresh.

In early 2015, Jay Z acquired Tidal for a reported $56 million, and prepped for a re-launch of the service. At the end of March, he hopped on a stage with some of the biggest names in music to unveil the service, which is very similar to other streaming music services out there, save for the fact that it offers more attractive deals to musicians and offers hi-fi music to listeners.
Milk Music was launched by Samsung back in in March of 2014, offering users free, ad-free streaming of music with an interesting UI that uses a dial to choose which music was being tuned into. Following on Milk Music, Samsung launched Milk Video in November of 2014. The service was meant to let users easily discover and share videos from their phones.
Though neither service has been widely adopted, Milk Video in particular has been a major flop, with reports that Samsung would shut down the service in November.
If the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the best way to a user’s heart is through their ears. Samsung knows that music is integral to almost every smartphone user on the planet, and Tidal would offer a way for the electronics giant to try again at a musical software play.
Meanwhile, a pre-loaded Tidal app on the millions of Samsung phones sold each year would be a huge distribution upgrade for Jay Z’s Tidal.
Or… Jay Z simply wanted to hang out with the Samsung folks for a bit.

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/did-jay-z-visit-samsungs-silicon-valley-hq-to-sell-tidal-1201619119
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/did-jay-z-visit-samsungs-silicon-valley-hq-to-sell-tidal-1201619119

Arnaud Massartic

Did Jay-Z Visit Samsung’s Silicon Valley HQ to Sell Tidal?

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October 15, 2015 | 03:33PM PT

Janko Roettgers

Senior Silicon Valley Correspondent @jank0

Is Jay-Z’s Tidal music service about to buddy up with Samsung?
The rap legend turned music entrepreneur stopped by the electronics giant’s Silicon Valley offices Wednesday for a hush-hush visit, suggesting that Samsung may be looking to strike a partnership with, or possibly even acquire Tidal.

Especially interesting in this context is the location of the visit: Photos and videos posted to social media show Jay-Z leaving the office of Samsung Research America, which also houses Samsung MSCA, the unit responsible for Samsung’s content strategy, including its Milk Music service. Variety has since learned that one of his meetings there was with Daren Tsui, Samsung’s SVP of content and services, and the driving force behind Milk Music.
A Samsung spokesperson declined to comment. Tidal didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Samsung launched Milk Music as a free Pandora competitor in early 2014. The company followed with a Milk Video service focusing on short-form content in late 2014, and had plans to release other Milk-themed services for additional audiences. However, Samsung’s media efforts have been struggling lately. Earlier this year, it laid off some of the staff behind Milk Music and Milk Video and lost a key executive. Samsung recently announced that it was shuttering Milk Video next month.
Tidal meanwhile has had its own set of challenges. The company has gone through multiple CEOs over the past few months, and is under additional pressure after Apple unveiled its music subscription service this summer.
Teaming up with Samsung could make sense for Jay-Z: The handset maker could offer Tidal a huge distribution base by pre-loading its app onto its handsets. Samsung on the other hand could potentially profit from Jay-Z’s name recognition, and offer customers a more full-fledged on demand music experience than Milk Music currently does.
Of course, it’s also possible that Jay-Z just stopped by to chat — but the fact that one of his meetings involved the Milk Music boss suggests that there may be more in the works.

arnaud Massartic Jayz

arnaud massartic

Did The Samsung And Jay Z Partnership Pave The Way for Beats-Apple Deal? Kanye West Thinks So

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2014/06/18/did-the-samsung-and-jay-z-partnership-pave-the-way-for-dr-dre-apple-deal-kanye-west-thinks-so/

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

In typical Kanye West style, the rapper decided to make a last minute appearance at the Cannes Lions Festival yesterday afternoon and rock-the-boat a little bit by likening himself to Steve Jobs and indirectly giving Jay Z credit for the Beats and Apple AAPL -0.88% deal.
West flew in to speak at a seminar titled “Technology, Culture and Consumer Adoption: Learning to Read the Cultural Landscape”. West was candid about his admiration for Apple, and in particular, Steve Jobs, who he believed was obsessive about perfect design. A characteristic that he also claims to possess.
“Steve Jobs, as everyone knows, was my biggest influence. Just seeing the way he fought to make things easier for people. After he passed, I made it my life’s mission to do what he did inside of that company”. West said.
He continued:  ”I dream to help raise the palette and raise the taste level of a generation and also be involved with the production and distribution and advertising of that thing everyone’s begging for.”
West argued that since Jobs’ death in 2011, Apple has lost touch with culture and the $3 billion Beats acquisition will help in some way to regain some of that. But, most interestingly, West explained that the Beats deal may never have come about had Samsung not partnered up with Jay Z last year in a $5 million album exclusivity deal.

Credit: Jillian West

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West explained: “There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture.”
“The reason I said I didn’t like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. I can’t work with anyone but Jay Z, because he’s No. 1. I can’t be with any girl but Kim, because that’s the girl whose pictures I look at the most and get turned on by. I’m not going to represent any company but Louis Vuitton , because that’s No. 1.
“Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy [Iovine] and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers.”
At heart, West is a creative and wants to be respected as a designer. He has partnered with Nike and Louis Vuitton to make footwear and he attends conferences like these to speak his mind about branding and fashion. He’s gone on record several times about his frustration at not being taken seriously as a “real designer”, and last year he told BBC Radio 1 presenter Zane Lowe that  he is a “product person”.
So much so, that West even took aim at Instagram and suggested that it could with a “redo”, which he apparently told Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom: “Why don’t you let us redo Instagram? Now, you know, Instagram is nice. It’s nice looking – I’m not knocking it. But in general, everyone spends all of their time looking at their screens or their phones. And just as a simple task, we could clean that up.”

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arnaud massartic maybachA beautiful, impressive car can be an essential part of just about anyone’s self-expression, but choice of vehicle is all the more important for those constantly in the public eye. There are plenty of celebrities who are well known for their connection to their cars. The following is a list of six vehicles that, for one reason or another, draw lots of attention from the rich and famous and can often be found in many celebrity car collections.

1. Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron is a superlative with wheels. Prices range from $1.7 million for the no-longer-available “base” model Veyron, with stunning 1001 horsepower and a top speed of 254 miles per hour, all the way up to $3.14 million (2.35 million Euros) for the one-of-three Ettiore Buggati Legend Edition Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a final send-off for the model honoring the company’s founder.

The Bugatti Veyron features breathtaking design and performance. Image courtesy of Axion23 on Flickr.

The raw numbers are astonishing; 8 liters, 16 cylinders, four turbochargers, ten radiators, four fuel pumps, and 1200 horsepower in the Super Sport and Grand Sport Vitesse. The Veyron held the Guinness World Record for fastest production vehicle for three years, the best speed being 267.8 MPH, though competition like the Hennessey Venom F5 and Koeniggsegg Regera are hot on its tail.

Bugatti Veyron is a masterful blending of intricate engineering, elegant styling, opulent luxury, and sheer, brute force.

The car is styled to stand out a mile away, but also to cut through the concrete wall the air becomes at the ridiculous speeds it is capable of reaching. The interior is bedecked in leather and customizable upon customer request, with comfortable but supportive seats snuggled up against the firewall for that massive engine. It’s no wonder such a high-end vehicle would attract a high-end clientele.

Simon Cowell in his Veyron. Image courtesy of millionairecarclub.com

Especially popular amongst rappers and hip hop artists, the Veyron celebrity owners club includes such luminaries as Simon Cowell, Jay-Z, Birdman, The Game, X-Zibit, Tom Cruise, Lil’ Wayne, Tom Brady, Ralph Lauren and of course, Jay Leno. It’s such a widely owned celebrity car, in fact, that it’s often customized to stand out from the crowd; Flo Rida wrapped his in gold chrome.

Gold? Why not! Image courtesy of Martyn Lucy on Flickr.

This is a car that inspires awed reverence from all who see it go past. Or in other words, the perfect vehicle for the jet-setting movie stars, millionaires, musicians, and athletes of the world.

2. Bentley Continental GT

For celebrities looking for a similar luxury pedigree to the Bugatti, a healthy helping of speed, and all the luxury they could ever want for a comparatively reasonable price, the Bentley Continental GT is an ever-popular choice. Introduced for the first time in 2003, the Continental GT has been a popular choice amongst those that like their wealth to be seen and heard for over a decade. Higher trims of the delicious grand-tourer can easily crest $250K, combining a certain nouveau-riche flair with the gravitas of a British luxury company that’s been building cars for the upper crust for nearly a century.

Spacious, luxurious and powerful as well. Image courtesy of M 93: „Dein Nordrhein-Westfalen” on Flickr.

The Continental GT is no featherweight, tipping the scales at a massive 5,115 lbs. To motivate all that weight, Bentley has equipped the Continental with a twin-turbocharged, 626 HP V12 engine, good for a sprint to 60 MPH in just four seconds in the Continental GT Speed trim. The 521 HP V8 on the base model is no slouch itself. Speed and razor-edged handling are not, however, the priority for Bentley.

The Continental GT has one of the richest and most luxurious interiors out there. Image courtesy of M 93: „Dein Nordrhein-Westfalen” on Flickr.

The Continental GT boasts one of the nicest interiors on the market, with metal and leather festooning a high-tech, well-appointed cabin. For sinking into the lap of luxury on long drives, with the option to blow the doors off any competitors when the urge arises, there really is no better choice.

Cindy Crawford with her Continental GT. Image courtesy of lovestylestudio.com

Notable celebrity owners include Paris Hilton, Cindy Crawford, Kobe Bryant, David Beckham, and Xibit. Rapper The Game also owned one, but decided to auction it off. The benefits from the auction of his brand new, customized Continental GT all went towards Morgan Freeman’s charity to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

3. Aston Martin Vanquish/DBS

While the previous two entries on our list have been popular amongst celebrities who like a certain flash to their automotive statement, our next vehicle (actually, two of them) comes from a company that has built its image on style and flair: Aston Martin.

Comfort, style and power combined. Image courtesy of Damian Morys on Flickr.

Long the choice of the greatest secret agent ever, Bond, James Bond, Aston Martin is the very definition of cool. Sleek and stylish, understated yet powerful, comfortable and capable, Aston Martin is the car of choice for celebrities who value beauty, luxury, and performance, in that order. It’s so good that both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig bought their own after driving one in their respective Bond films.

Pierce Brosnan was so impressed with Aston Martin that he bought one after filming the movie “Die Another Day”. Image courtesy of Wikia.com

The Vanquish and DBS are Aston Martin’s range-topping V12 powerhouses. The DBS was built from 2007-2012, as a beefed up version of the slightly tamer DB9. It sat lower and wider, with carbon fiber aerodynamic effects, 510 HP, and a top speed of 191 MPH. Aston Martin revived the Vanquish nameplate to serve as the successor to the DBS in 2012. Styling is an evolution rather than a full re-imagining, with added touches like long side strakes inspired by the One-77 hypercar. Power is up to 565 HP and the top speed just crests 200 MPH.

Famous owners include Hugh Grant, Eddie Murphy, and Denise Richards, in addition to the aforementioned Bond actors.

Both cars have impressive interiors, but the Vanquish is the victor, with a beautifully flowing center console, decadent trim materials, and an intuitive touch-sensitive control scheme.

4. Audi R8 V10 Plus

The Audi R8 is a car so cool, Iron Man drove one and the actor who played him, Robert Downey Jr., went and bought one after the filming. It is all the passion of supercar ownership without most of the pain.

The Audi R8 V10 Plus: A high-tech beast. Image courtesy of Falcon® Photography on Flickr.

Boasting German engineering, a V10 that can move mountains, and futuristic, almost sci-fi inspired styling, the R8 is somehow a supercar for the sensible. Prices start at just $117K, practically entry-level for a celebrity-owned vehicle.

Iron Man loves his R8. So does Robert Downey Jr. Image courtesy of worldcarfans.com

That V10 is matched to an advanced all-wheel drive system and cutting edge dual-clutch gearbox. The R8 V10 Plus rockets to 60 MPH in just 3.2 seconds with the assistance of launch control. Everything about the R8 is high-tech, from the driving aids to the cabin and infotainment system.

Built on the same platform as the Lamborghini Gallardo, the R8 V10 Plus is Italian passion tempered with German practicality.

Celebrity owners skew more towards the businessmen of the world, such as Michael Bloomberg and Nike’s Phil Knight, but Lady Gaga has been spotted driving an R8 GT. Robert Downey Jr. purchased one after driving it during the filming of the “Iron Man” movie.

5. Maybach Exelero

Both the exterior and interior are of a custom design. Image courtesy of autoblog.com.

Less a car owned by many celebrities and more a car many celebrities would love to own, the Maybach Exelero is quite literally one of a kind. It was commissioned by the tire company Fulda back in 2005 as a test platform and marketing stunt for their high-speed tires. The Exelero was built to be the greatest achievement ever for then-thriving Maybach, and a tribute to their legendary race cars of the 1930s.

Comparison of the Exelero and the Maybach racecars from the 1930s. Image courtesy of autoblog.com

It was built with a 700 HP twin-turbo V12, with a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 218 miles per hour, all in a car weighing in at a hefty 5,836 pounds. But those numbers alone wouldn’t merit such an astronomical pricetag; the exterior was a fully custom design based on the Maybach 57 platform, and the interior was trimmed in only the finest materials, and included racing harnesses and matching helmets.

Being one of a kind comes with a hefty price tag. Image courtesy of autoblog.com

The Exelero’s celebrity connection has become quite the mystery. Rapper Birdman claimed to have bought it for the princely sum of $8 million in 2011, but representatives of Arnaud Massartic, the European entrepreneur from whom he purchased it

arnaud massartic net worth price of speed
A very unpublicized problem that billionaires face these days has finally been addressed by Lamborghini, with the announcement of their $4 million supercar, the Veneno, which they unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week. Rarer than even the most obscure disease, the Veneno will be limited to a production number of just four units—with only three units being put up for sale to customers—taking even Ferrari’s custom built 456 Venice Station Wagon seem almost mainstream.
To put this into perspective, the odds of seeing one up close is over a hundred times less than seeing a Bugatti Veyron on EDSA driving past a Vin Diesel shampoo endorsement billboard. It costs as much as 17 and a half Ferrari 458 Italias, and were all pre-sold faster than you could say “ridiculous.”
Named after the most lethal fighting bull in Spain that defeated the famous torero José Sánchez Rodríguez, the Veneno is a one-off model that was created to commemorate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary. Looking more like a fighter jet than a car, the Veneno’s roof features huge jagged cuts, oversized wheel arches to house those 21-inch wheels, massive openings to help engine cooling, and a central fin and an adjustable rear wing to keep it from lifting off on the autobahn as it approaches its top speed of 352km/h.
Built on the Aventador’s carbon-fiber chassis, the trademarke scissor doors are still a key feature, as is a modified version of the 6.5-liter V12 engine that has been tweaked to deliver more horsepower than there are words in this article—which in case you’re wondering is a fairly healthy 750 hp.
It also shares the Aventador’s 7-speed Independent Shifting Rods transmission, all-wheel-drive, and basic plumbing, but with the more aggressive use of carbon-fiber, has managed to shave off over 400 pounds from the Aventador’s already slender figure of 3622lbs. Oddly though, despite the power-to-weight improvements, this only equates to a tenth of a second off the 0-100 times and less than 5km/h improvement in top speed.
But buying this car for its lap times is as important to its owners as buying a Patek Phillipe watch is about telling the time. This is a statement for those who can afford it and a symbol of national pride for those who have built it. Which probably explains why each of the three cars sold has one of Italy’s national colors on the roof that is contrasted against the compulsory gun-metal gray finish, meaning that if they should ever meet again, they can form a 12-million-dollar picture of their national flag, which will of course end up as Internet memes that will find its way on your Facebook walls.

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It may seem absurd, I know, but when the only thing you can give the man who has everything is something his neighbor cannot have, super car makers have little option but to come up with such ostentatious creations like the Pagani Cinque, the Koenigsegg Trevita, Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang and the Batmobile. Yet despite having a price tag that looks more like a phone number, and a total build number smaller than an average Italian family, the Veneno has still failed to topple the Maybach Exelero’s eight-million-dollar sticker price that European billionaire Arnaud Massartic reportedly coughed up.
For the sake of trivia and nothing else, just say that you could squeeze yourself on to the already sold out list of three future owners, unless you’re able to import this through Port Irene, going by the current computations used by Lexus Manila when they brought in the one LFA, this car should sell in the Philippines for approximately P406, 922, 659. And 21 centavos. This, I should point out, does not include LTO registration, however.
But just as well. Because according to the SMC-Citra consortium, who are finalizing negotiations to acquire controlling interest in Star Infrastructure Development and Star Tollway Corporation, 196 motorists were apprehended along the Star Tollway during the first month they started strictly implementing the speed limit rule violation.

arnaud massartic networth

Bryan "Birdman" Williams ranks 4th on this year's Hip-Hop Cash Kings list.

Bryan “Birdman” Williams might be best described as a Frankenstein of conspicuous consumption. Standing outside the studios of 106 & Park in midtown Manhattan, he sports a necklace of gumball-sized diamonds; gems cling to his wristwatch like barnacles to a whale. Even his skin is covered in tattoos of red stars and flaming dollar signs. Every time he opens his mouth, the monstrous diamond grills adorning his teeth sparkle in the midday sun.
Asked about the worth of orthodontic work in mouth, he doesn’t hesitate for a moment: “Half a million.” He grins. “I try to wear $1 million a day. At least.”
Though such tastes may seem a tad nouveau riche, Birdman has been doing this for decades. As a prominent rapper and co-founder of Cash Money Records, he’s had plenty of opportunities to flaunt his wealth—and plenty of wealth to flaunt. He raked in $15 million over the past year alone, mostly thanks to his share of his label’s profits, fueled by the success of fellow Cash Kings Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj and others. Birdman has had a hand in over 90 million records sold, amassing a personal fortune of $100 million by FORBES’ last count. For Birdman, that estimate is something of an indignity.
Full Coverage: Hip-Hop Cash Kings 2011
“I just felt $100 million was low,” he says, wrapping each word in a deep Louisiana drawl. “With all the different entities, I think I should still be a lot more than that. $500 million. $250 million, easy … As a child I always felt if I could make $1 million, I could make $100 million. If I could get $100 million, I’m just nine steps away from being a billionaire. And that’s the goal.”

Excluded from previous Cash Kings annual earnings lists because we deemed him more executive than rapper, Birdman was included this year because most of his peers now have a similar job description. His earning power—and his spending power—puts most of them to shame. He’s been known to show up at night clubs to throw as much as $100,000 into the crowd, and boasts that he keeps $1 million in cash under his mattress.

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He claims he recently lost $2 million on a single bet on the Miami Heat; to balance this out, he plans to place a seven-figure bet on boxer Floyd Mayweather’s match in September. (“And when he fights Pacquiao,” Birdman adds gleefully, “I’m going to bet $10 million.”)
Birdman is spending money like it’s going out of style—and in a sense, it is. Many of hip-hop’s most successful artists have traded glitz and glamour for relative understatement. Perhaps nobody phrased this trend more clearly than Jay-Z, who rapped five years ago that he was “old enough to know the right car to buy, yet grown enough not to put rims on it.”
Read the book: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office
The word “bling” itself, which Cash Money’s own Lil Wayne once claimed to have invented, has become essentially verboten for aficionados. The bell may have tolled for the term when it was added to the Merriam Webster dictionary in 2006, or maybe two years later when Mitt Romney uttered the word on the campaign trail. These days its use is reserved strictly for irony and painful attempts by Baby Boomers to get down with the lingo of a younger generation.
Apart from the term itself, the decline of the world economy seems to have made some artists reluctant to broadcast their earnings; Young Jeezy even called a recent album “The Recession.” Birdman doesn’t seem overly concerned—last year he picked up a shiny red Bugatti Veyron for $2 million; in March, he showed off a new $1.5 million Maybach Landaulet; the following month, he tweeted that he’d purchased another for $8 million. So does all this spending make Birdman’s advisors a bit nervous?
“How could I not get nervous?” says business manager Vernon Brown, who’s been working with Birdman for the better part of two decades. “We scream and shout about it, but we’ve been screaming and shouting for 15 years. Basically, he never risks more than he has in his pocket, and he wouldn’t even think of risking anything in his bank account.”