Irish-born U2 frontman Bono is set to have a bit more green in his wallet after today.
According to the British music magazine NME, with the initial public offering of Facebook stock today, Bono will substantially boost his wealth.
The U2 front man was wise enough to buy into the social media network in 2009, purchasing 2.3 percent of the shares in Facebook through his private equity firm, Elevation Partners.
While Bono’s firm bought the shares for $90 million three years ago, the shares are now valued at $1.5 billion. It remains unclear how many shares Bono personally holds or if they were solely purchased by the equity firm.
But Bono’s reported new wealth doesn’t mean that the singer is headed toward retirement. NME also reports that U2 is back in the studio, working with several new creative collaborators.
“The band [is] back in the studio getting a feel for new material after the last album ‘No Line On The Horizon’. Will.i.am had a credit on that and they are looking to explore that direction further,” a source told the magazine. “They have been working with Danger Mouse and RedOne.”
With its initial price set at $38 a share, trading of Facebook stock began just after 11:30 a.m.