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Jul 16, 2023

Music Mogul Scooter Braun's Net Worth and Business Empire

As prominent clients like Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato leave, take a look at the music manager’s deals that made him millions

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Major artists such as Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande are reportedly leaving Scooter Braun, the music manager to some of the biggest pop stars. There are also reports that singer Justin Bieber is leaving Braun, according to Puck News, though neither side has officially commented. We take a look at the music manager’s deals that built a net worth of $500 million.

Bieber, who was discovered by Braun and has been his client for 16 years, is reportedly working on an album without his manager and hasn't spoken to him in months, People reported. Singer J. Balvin left Braun in May after 18 months as his client.

While the reasons behind the high-profile splits are unknown and are largely based on reports from industry insiders, some sources told Variety that the artists are going to remain with Braun and that the manager is just stepping back to focus on his role as CEO of South Korean entertainment company HYBE America, owner of ultra-popular K-pop group BTS. Braun sold his company, Ithaca Holdings, to HYBE America for more than $1 billion in 2021 and became the company's CEO in January 2023.

Braun has a net worth of $500 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, thanks to a series of lucrative deals and acquisitions—some of them controversial, such as when he sold Taylor Swift's music catalog.

Braun's Ithaca Holdings was the parent company of Braun's management business, SB Projects. Braun sold Ithaca Holdings to South Korean entertainment company HYBE America (formerly known as Big Hit) for a little over $1 billion in 2021. As part of the deal, HYBE America acquired a 100% stake in Ithaca Holdings, including SB Projects and its clients Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, and Big Machine Label Group.

After Braun became CEO of HYBE America in 2023, he acquired Quality Control. This Atlanta-based entertainment company manages Migos, Lil Yachty, and Lil Baby, in a deal worth $320 million in cash and stock.

Braun received about $86.2 million in shares from selling Ithaca Holdings. and as shareholders of the company, his clients did too—Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, J. Balvin, Demi Lovato and other artists and staff got $161 million in shares, according to Variety.

In 2018, Braun acquired Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records for an estimated $300 million. The acquisition made Braun the owner of pop superstar Taylor Swift's first six albums, garnering backlash from her fans and Swift herself, who released a statement via social media to voice her disapproval that Braun owned almost her entire music catalog.

In 2020, Braun sold the master rights of Swift's first six albums to private equity fund Shamrock Capital for about $300 million. Swift began releasing re-recorded versions of her initial albums so they would be under her ownership.

Braun has bought and sold multi-million properties, most of which are in Southern California. In 2021, shortly after closing the deal with Ithaca Holdings and HYBE, Braun bought a $65 million mansion in LA's Brentwood area. In February 2022, Braun sold a waterfront property he owned in Austin, Texas, for $18 million. Later that year, Braun bought a property called Villa Tagara in Montecito, California, from talk show host Ellen Degeneres for $36 million.

Billboard. "Ariana Grande Parts Ways With Manager Scooter Braun."

Puck News. "Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun Haven't Talked in Months."

People. "Justin Bieber 'Hasn't Talked' To Scooter Braun in Months: Source."

Variety. "What the Hell Is Going On In Scooter Braun's Empire?"

Celebrity Net Worth. "Scooter Braun Net Worth."

Variety. "HYBE America Acquires Quality Control, Home to Lil Baby, Migos and City Girls, in $300 Million-Plus Deal Led by Scooter Braun."

Variety. "Taylor Swift’s Masters, Scooter Braun’s ‘Bullying’: Inside the Big Machine-Ithaca Deal."

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