---
title: "A brief look: Elevation's Facebook investment is the sweetest thing"
description: "Investment fund Elevation Partners, best known for its connection with U2 frontman Bono, is finally shaking off its loser reputation. Before you ask what a rock star knows about financial markets, consider that Elevation's 2009 investment in Facebook has grown fourfold. As if Bono weren't rich enough already. By THERESA MALLINSON."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Theresa Mallinson"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/theresamallinson/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2011-08-18-a-brief-look-elevations-facebook-investment-is-the-sweetest-thing/"
published: "2011-08-18T06:28:50"
updated: "2013-02-01T20:07:41"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 329
---

# A brief look: Elevation's Facebook investment is the sweetest thing

> Investment fund Elevation Partners, best known for its connection with  U2 frontman Bono, is finally shaking off its loser reputation. Before  you ask what a rock star knows about financial markets, consider that  Elevation's 2009 investment in Facebook has grown fourfold. As if Bono  weren't rich enough already. By THERESA MALLINSON.

By Theresa Mallinson · Published 18 August 2011, 08:28 SAST · Updated 1 February 2013, 22:07 SAST

## Content

In-between touring the world with his band, [avoiding paying his taxes](http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/25/u2-bono-tax-protest-glastonbury), and saving Africa, U2 frontman Bono somehow managed to find the time to cofound an investment company, Elevation Partners, in 2004.

Until now, the company has been widely panned for a string of poor investment choices, including buying a 25% stake in Palm in 2007 for $325 million (admittedly Elevation was able to exit the investment with a slight profit when [Hewlett Packard bought Palm last year](http://venturebeat.com/2010/04/28/elevation-partners-makes-25m-on-palm-hp-heres-the-math/)), and a 40%-plus stake in Forbes Media that is rumoured to have cost between $250 million and $300 million. The media company has fallen far short of projected earnings since then \[http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/tag/forbes-media/\], even going into the red for the 2009 financial year.

U2 is doing a lot better than Forbes Media at the moment as, ironically enough, the band retained the top spot on the [Forbes Music Rich List 2011](http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/17/u2-top-highest-paid-list?INTCMP=SRCH), with earnings of $195 million last year, largely from its 360 World Tour.

Seems like Bono's investment prowess was his Achilles heel, with [Wall Street 24/7](http://247wallst.com/2010/03/24/bono-becomes-the-worst-investor-in-america/) calling him “the worst investor in America” in March 2010. But, with Facebook's recent valuation of $65 billion, the U2 frontman's financial reputation – and bank balance – look set to improve dramatically.

Elevation paid $210 million for about 1% of Facebook in November 2009. Today, that stock is worth $975 million, which means its value has grown more than four times in less than two years.

While some headlines have referred to “Billion-dollar Bono”, it's worth remembering that he is just one of five partners in Elevation. So that putative billion dollars doesn't belong directly to Bono, although he owns a significant share of it. We wonder how many starving Somalis that money could feed? **DM**

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**Read more:**

- Billion-dollar Bono: U2 star is now elevated to top investor, in the [Belfast Telegraph](http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/billiondollar-bono-u2-star-is-now-elevated-to-top-investor-16037537.html);
- Bono's Facebook stake worth nearly $1bn, in the [Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/ireland-business-blog-with-lisa-ocarroll/2011/aug/16/u2-bono-facebook-stake?INTCMP=SRCH).

*Photo:*