After finally achieving billionaire status, as reported by Forbes, multi-platinum music producer Dr. Dre discusses his thoughts on reaching the coveted title.
Forbes bestowed that title on the former N.W.A. member when it released its latest list of billionaires on March 10. The publication said that his fortune came mostly from his record label, Aftermath Entertainment, and Beats Electronics, which he and co-partner Jimmy Iovine sold to Apple for more than $3 billion over 10 years ago.
Before
that sale was approved, a bit of controversy arose, leading to Dre narrowly missing the billionaire tag in 2014. R&B singer Tyrese was partly blamed for that situation when he blurted on social media that the impending Apple deal would give Dre the money to achieve that status.The Washington Post captured the video and posted the interaction on YouTube.
Dre recalled the moment in a conversation with Forbes and said, “That’s not one of my proudest moments.”
Apple decided to lower its acquisition price by $200 million, which placed $500 million in Dre’s bank account (along with almost $100 million in stock), denying him the magic number to wear that title.
It took more than a decade to achieve that, but now that he is one, he attributes his success to betting on himself and ending up on top.
“I don’t chase money—I try to make the money chase me,” said Dre. “I’ve always been able to bet on myself, and whatever I do and wherever I go, I know I have my talent with me.”
Dre has never stopped working. With the success of many ventures he’s been involved in over the years, including his most recent, Gin & Juice canned cocktails, he still dabbles in music.
“Who knows if something is gonna happen to make me come up with the best thing I’ve ever done in my life? The exciting part is there’s the potential of that. It’s exciting and depressing at the same time because I know it’s there, and what if I don’t find it?”
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