Source: Kevin Rawls / Grundy Wiley / Radio One Houston
Chamillionaire has kept a pretty low profile these days but when you do hear from him, it’s always for the betterment of himself and the people around him. A master angel investor, Cham’s name has been attached to programs such as Lyft, Ring, Amazon and more.
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Alley this past Sunday (March 31), the North side native detailed his investment journey and wants to share his wealth with the community. Part of that journey includes his relationship with the ride-share app Lyft. Originally founded in 2012, Cham explained how he and a few other artists took interest in the emerging app in 2014 and decided to invest.
“Me and a few others like Big Boi from Outkast and Trey Songz were excited about the ride-sharing space,” he said. “This was around 2014, we started making the steps to get in touch with Lyft and did our investment in 2015.”
Lyft went public recently after reporting a worth of $2.157 billion in 2018. Early investors sold their stakes for a nice bag. Although Cham doesn’t plan on letting go of his stock, activist investor Carl Icahn sold his stake, which was reportedly worth around $550 million.
“I’m definitely bullish on the company and will be there for the long-run,” he added. He also stated that the reasoning behind his investment journey and how he wants to take what he’s learned and share it with individuals in Houston and more.
“My focus is not necessarily about money as much as people think,” he said. “I believe that [the tech] industry has a lot of value in it and this value hasn’t been given to my community. I’m trying to do is learn as much as I can, make a lot of investments so I can plant seeds to help my family but then bring a lot of other people in. That’s really why I’m here. I feel like a lot of these companies are disrupting the world with so much innovation and so many people from my community don’t have access to this stuff. My mission is to try to help a lot more people who look like me get into these companies.”
You can watch the interview below as Cham posted it on his Instagram page. He noted that the conversation occurred after he found out about the death of rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle and how he powered through in his honor.
“We have to start planting more seeds in our communities,” he captioned the interview. “We have to start INVESTING in our future. We have to support each other more. What do riches mean if your people aren’t eating? (Please tag someone that needs to hear this)”
SEE ALSO: Chamillionaire Set To Donate $10,000 In A Black Founder’s Company For Black History Month
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Image Credit: CNBC
