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It’s a beautiful day in Saint Tropez. Picture: Pierre Suu Source: Supplied
HIS music has been the soundtrack for millions around the world, but Bono has now made more money by playing the stock market than by playing music.
The U2 frontman is raking in millions thanks to a 2.3 per cent share of Facebook he and five fellow investors acquired for $86 million back when the social media site went public in 2009.
Bono’s investment group, Elevation Partners, bought another $120 million worth of Facebook shares from private shareholders in 2010, according to The Mirror.
Six years later, that savvy investment has paid out more than $1.4 billion, with Bono’s personal cut worth about $43 million, valuewalk.com estimates.
Bono knew he was onto a good thing with Facebook. Picture: Tristan Fewings Source: Getty Images
News of Bono’s good fortune comes a few weeks after it was revealed that his ethical clothing firm, EDUN Apparel, has lost nearly $68 million. He started EDUN in 2005 with his wife, Ali Hewson.
Despite the losses, EDUN remains committed to “building long-term, sustainable growth opportunities by supporting manufacturers, community-based initiatives and partnering with African artists and artisans,†the company said on its website.
Bono is well known for his philanthropic efforts in developing nations, regularly performing at concerts and writing songs whose proceeds go toward the fight against AIDS, among other causes.
Bono is pictured living it up in Saint Tropez with his wife Ali Hewson, Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher, plus fellow rocker Noel Gallagher and his girlfriend. Picture: INFphoto.com Source: Supplied
He was dubbed the “face of fusion philanthropy†by The New York Times and named a Man of Peace by Nobel Peace laureates in 2008.
The 55-year-old Irish rocker was sidelined for nearly six months after fracturing his eye socket, shoulder blade, left arm and left hand in a bicycle accident in Central Park last November. The crash has left him unable to play guitar.
He spoofed the accident on “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon†in May, appearing in a sketch in which he gets back on a bicycle — only to get hit by a van.
He returned to the stage in July for concerts at Madison Square Garden, the first indoor-arena show the band had played in a decade.