Hip-hop artist and record executive Yo Gotti is reportedly expanding his investment portfolio after agreeing to purchase a small stake in D.C. United. The deal will make him part-owner of the team and values the Major League Soccer club at $750 million. He joins National Football League player Mark Ingram II, who invested at a $710 million valuation in June.
According to reporting by The Washington Post, Yo Gotti, whose real name is Mario Mims, has teamed up with petroleum executive Eyob 'Joe' Mamo and several other investors in the national business sector to purchase a minority stake in the team. The deal is reportedly pending league approval, and if confirmed, the investors are projected to acquire a 6 percent stake of MLS's D.C. United.
Gotti hasn’t spoken publicly about the deal, but the investment shouldn’t come as a surprise, the rapper dropped a hint when he was spotted last month attending MLS All-Star Game and met with MLS commissioner Don Garber. He’s also built a friendship over the past few years with D.C. United’s co-chairmen, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan. His relationship with Levien and Kaplan stems from their investments in Gotti’s hometown Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
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Yo Gotti has been quietly growing his investment portfolio for several years now but revealed on his last album Untrapped that he made $20 million through several investments and had to pay $8 million in taxes.
One of his successful investments was CMG, the record label he founded. Spotify's RapCaviar recognized Yo Gotti for the relentless work he's been putting in with the artists signed to the label. He was awarded 'All-Rap Caviar Coach Of The Year' in July. In three years, Gotti built CMG from a burgeoning label to a Hip Hop powerhouse.
The record executive and his investment group are the latest to join the United ownership program. In June, Houston Texans running back Mark Ingram II bought a stake estimated at 1 percent in a deal that valued the team at $710 million. The music mogul joins a string of celebrities who have ownership stakes in MLS teams. Will Ferrell is one of the owners of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club, Matthew McConaughey is an owner of Austin FC and, Drew Carey has been an owner of the Seattle Sounders.
The investments come as United attempts to raise capital for a variety of projects, including develop land on the east side of Audi Field, the home stadium for United, and complete a new training headquarters in Leesburg.
Source: The Washington Post, BlackEnterprise