Jay-Z owns .067 or 1/15 of one percent of the Brooklyn Nets, according to an article posted two months ago in the New York Times. The point about Jay-Z’s ownership was a minor point but it quickly took on a life of its own. The Macy-bred rapper never uttered a word about his rumored ownership but after christening the Barclays arena with two sold out shows he addressed the audience on the third night.
“We still got a long way to go because everybody wanna diminish your accomplishment. When I look at the paper and I see them talking, ‘Ehh.. he owns one-fifteenth.’ First of all, I don’t know where they get that number from but I’m cool with it. I know it’s not about me, it’s about y’all. What I mean by that is, it’s not personal to me. They know that if you see me standing here that you know it’s possible to achieve great things. Don’t let anybody diminish your accomplishments. It’s our motherf-cking time now.”
The author of the NYTimes piece, David Halbfinger defended his math,
“It’s very simple. He invested $1 million and that was out of a $300 million purchase price. That’s one-third of one percent, period. End of story.”
Despite the criticism over his ownership no one is contesting that Jay has found a way to increase the return on his small investment.
According to Forbes, “suite owners will have access to a Champagne bar serving Armand de Brignac, an expensive bubbly that Mr. Carter promotes and in which he holds a financial interest. The arena will contain a 40/40 Club, an iteration of his sports-bar-style nightclub chain. There will be a Rocawear store, selling his clothing line, on the arena’s exterior and advertising agency Translation was hired by the Nets, Jay owns half.”
Looks like Jay is winning after all.
