Some Not Yet Profitable Business Investments are Costing Jay-Z Millions

Just because you’ve got stacks on deck doesn’t mean you’re not losing any of it because of a couple of bad business decisions. And according to the NY Post, rapper/known business man Jay-Z has suffered a few financial blips of his own recently costing him millions due to a couple of bad investments, including two failed hotel ventures, a play that didn’t sell too well and more. Check out a few of Hov’s 99 problems below:

* Two Manhattan hotel development projects, one in Chelsea and the other in the Meatpacking District, fizzled out this year, costing Jay-Z and a company he controls about $50 million.

* His almost 7-year-old 40/40 Club franchise, while still successful overall, has taken a few lumps as the 80,000-square-foot Las Vegas edition, with its 80-plus plasma TVs, was closed in late 2008 after just eight months in business — a victim of low attendance. Plus, a Chicago club, first expected to debut in 2009, is still not open.

* In March, he walked away from a reported $2 million investment in the Aqueduct Entertainment Group, an entity selected to develop a “racino” at Aqueduct Racetrack. He bailed after federal and state authorities started to investigate potential corruption in the selection process.

* An investment alongside Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith in “Fela!”, the critically acclaimed Broadway musical, has yet to turn a profit — but it could, theater-watchers say, especially if Jay-Z starts getting out in front of it and markets it the way Elton John is always promoting his 2008 hit “Billy Elliott.”

The trio invested a total of about $1 million in “Fela!,” which garnered 11 Tony award nominations.

* Plus, there is his 1.5 percent stake in the New Jersey Nets which has performed as poorly as the team since he bought it in 2004. Jay-Z was among the group that purchased the team for $300 million — but it’s now worth $269 million, a drop of 10 percent. Jay-Z could have done better putting the cash into a mutual fund that tracked the sickly S&P 500 Index — which is up 7.6 percent, not counting dividends, over the same period.

All of this sounds like a lot, but let’s be real… what business man isn’t losing money in our current recession? Besides, he makes a ton of money off of his successful business projects, including his Rocawear clothing line, his $150 million Live Nation deal and more. Continue reading to take a look at a few of his big money-makers…

* Live Nation deal
Cuts deal with concert-promotion company valued at roughly $150 million over 5 years, which includes funding for Roc Nation — a music development, promotion company for Jay-Z. Roc Nation and Live Nation will split profits on album and concert revenue. The deal includes funding for Jay-Z music, acquisitions and investments.

* Rocawear
Co-founded the apparel company in 1999 with Damon Dash. Bought out Dash’s 25% stake for $30M in 2005. Grew sales to roughly $700M by March 2007, when he sold it to Iconix for $204M.

* Real Estate
314 West 11th St.: Owns the building that houses The Spotted Pig.

TriBeCa Penthouse: Paid $6.85M for 8,000-square-foot home in 2004. Patio where Jay-Z married Beyonce.

See? Just because you invest in a few failed ventures doesn’t make you a bad business man. Besides, with all that money his wife Beyonce has he doesn’t have to worry too much about his own finances…