Bono — Elevation Partners & Facebook Stake

U2's frontman co-founded Elevation Partners in 2004 and invested $86 million in Facebook in 2009 — pre-IPO, when most people thought social media was a fad. When Facebook went public in 2012, Bono's stake was worth over $1.5 billion. He also invested early in Yelp, Forbes Media, and Palm (a swing and a miss). His music career earned an estimated $700 million over four decades of touring and albums. One venture capital bet made more than twice that. Forbes puts his personal fortune at $1.8 billion, making him the richest rock star alive.