🐰 Bad Bunny’s Growing Business Empire

In today’s newsletter I discuss Bad Bunny’s growing business empire, Snap is rolling out their own creator subscription service, Bad Bunny scores the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, OpenAI acquires OpenClaw’s creator, Elon Musk ‘s X is about to launch stock and crypto trading, NASA says astronauts can use iPhones in space, and Netflix just scored the long awaited primetime MMA fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.

Let’s get into it!

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🐰 Bad Bunny’s Growing Business Empire

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known to the world as Bad Bunny, has climbed to the top of the global music scene by breaking nearly every traditional rule possible, and he’s building a massive business empire that’s based on spreading love and positivity. There’s a lot to be learned from how Bad Bunny’s built a net worth that’s estimated to be more than $100 million dollars without ever signing a traditional major label contract. Bad Bunny’s turned his personal brand into a diversified portfolio that includes investments in sports, tech, and real estate.

Let’s talk about Bad Bunny’s music career. Bad Bunny signed to Rimas Entertainment, an independent Puerto Rican record label specializing in Latin trap and reggaeton, in 2016 after his hit song "Diles" went viral on SoundCloud. Rimas Entertainment was founded in 2014 in San Juan, Puerto Rico by Noah Assad and Rafael Jiménez-Dan, and later Bad Bunny also became a co-owner in the label. Noah Assad is now Bad Bunny’s manager and business partner, and together their team has driven Bad Bunny's global success. Even Bad Bunny’s record contract has broken the typical rules of the music industry. While most artists under major labels may only see between 15–30% of the revenue they bring in, Bad Bunny has an incredibly favorable royalty structure with his label Rimas Entertainment that gives him a 90/10 split in his favor. Through Bad Bunny’s partnership with Rimas Entertainment and a distribution deal with Sony's The Orchard, Bad Bunny gets 90% of revenue from music, streaming, and tours, a figure unheard of for most major music artists.

Bad Bunny’s also earned a huge collection of awards. He’s won 6 Grammy Awards, including a historic win for Album of the Year for the project titled, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”. This was the first time a solo Latino artist won that category with an all-Spanish album. Bad Bunny also has 17 Latin Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 54 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 13 Lo Nuestro Awards, and 9 American Music Awards. So yea, it’s clear the music industry recognizes the talents of Bad Bunny.

All of Bad Bunny’s fame has helped him gain over 108 million followers on Spotify, and has a record 20 billion plus streams on the platform making him the most streamed artist globally on Spotify. He’s even more streamed than Taylor Swift, and that’s no easy feat. Bad Bunny’s influence extends to Instagram, where he has over 52 million followers, and on TikTok where he has another 52 million followers. And over on YouTube? You guessed it, he has another 52 million subscribers. And just for good measure you can include his 13 million followers on Facebook, and 5 million followers on Twitter (I mean X). So yea, Bad Bunny is a big deal on social media. Bad Bunny’s social media footprint, and his record touring and awards, are a big reason he was chosen to headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Bad Bunny recently reached a pinnacle of his music career with his Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. Following his Super Bowl appearance, streams for Bad Bunny’s music on Spotify surged by 470% in the U.S., reaching nearly 100 million streams in a single day. My guess is he’ll be announcing a world tour pretty soon. That’s what most artists do after performing at the Super Bowl, but this being Bad Bunny it’s anyone’s guess. He’s that much of a business maverick!

Bad Bunny has become quite the investor in recent years. In May 2021 Bad Bunny became a co-owner of the Puerto Rican basketball team Los Cangrejeros de Santurce when he joined the ownership group of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Through this partnership with his manager Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda, Bad Bunny wants to help foster positive change on the island of Puerto Rico. In Miami, Florida Bad Bunny teamed up with nightlife mogul David Grutman and his Groot Hospitality firm to open the restaurant Gekkō in August 2022. Gekkō combines the elegance of a modern steakhouse, with the high-energy, lounge-style feel typical of a Miami nightclub. The restaurant specializes in various cuts of high-end Wagyu (including olive-fed and snow beef), and features a six-seat omakase bar, sushi, and creative shared plates like lobster dumplings and a 24k Otoro dish. Since Gekkō opened it has become a major destination for celebrities, including Lionel Messi, the Kardashians, and DJ Khaled.

Did you know Bad Bunny is also an angel investor? Bad Bunny has made investments in the venture capital world a major focus of his growing business empire. Bad Bunny is a confirmed angel investor in a company called Creative Intell. The company has developed an AI-powered, legal, and educational platform designed for the music industry in order to simplify contract drafting, negotiation, and signing. Creative Intell enables artists, managers, and lawyers to create, manage, and understand legal agreements while offering educational courses on music business, intellectual property, and revenue protection.

Bad Bunny is a dream client for nearly any brand, because of his global recognition and appeal. Bad Bunny has used brand partnerships to play a massive role in becoming a household name across the entire planet. Bad Bunny signed a deal with Adidas that recently led to the launch of his own signature sneaker called the BadBo 1.0. When people saw Bad Bunny wearing these sneakers during his Super Bowl performance it caused a 496% increase in searches for the brand. Bad Bunny’s sneakers weren’t the only thing people were looking at during his Super Bowl performance. During Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show he wore a custom outfit from Zara during a major performance to show a connection to accessible fashion. In the luxury space Bad Bunny has worked with Kendall Jenner on a global luggage campaign for Gucci. Bad Bunny also signed a partnership deal with PepsiCo that included a $500,000 dollar donation to the Good Bunny Foundation.

Bad Bunny currently has a real estate portfolio that is valued at $25 million dollars, and he’s only getting started. In January 2023 Bad Bunny purchased a mansion in West Hollywood for $8.8 million dollars that features a 7316 sqft house with an infinity pool. In January 2024 Bad Bunny purchased Ariana Grande’s home, located in the Bird Streets neighborhood of Los Angeles, for $8.3 million dollars. While Bad Bunny has multiple homes in Los Angeles, mostly for work and a little play, he maintains his primary residence in secure, sprawling estate in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When he’s not soaking up the sun and vibes in Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny also rents a penthouse in Manhattan's West Chelsea, which reportedly costs him $150,000 dollars per month, making it one of the most expensive rentals in New York City’s history.

Bad Bunny has amassed an estimated net worth of $100 million dollars as his career continues to reach new heights. The growth of Bad Bunny’s portfolio is fueled by his nearly non-stop touring, revenue from his music catalog thanks to the nearly unheard of 90/10 split he has with his music label, and his investments in startups, restaurants, and real estate.

Bad Bunny’s rise from a grocery store worker in Puerto Rico, to the world’s most streamed artist, proves that the old barriers of the music industry don’t exist anymore. And through the partnerships he’s struck, and the investments he’s made, Bad Bunny’s business empire is just getting started.

Quick Hits

🫰 Business

Snap is launching a new creator subscription service on Snapchat that will allow their 850 million monthly active users to pay monthly fees to their favorite influencers, similar to how platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans work. This initiative by Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is the company’s latest effort to capture a portion of the $250 billion dollar creator economy. Snap is aiming to diversify their income away from digital advertising, and increase their annual revenue above the $5.93 billion billion dollars they reported for 2025. If my kid’s addiction to doom-scrolling Snap is any indication then the company is going to have a very good 2026!

🥇 Entertainment

Bad Bunny just reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time as a solo artist with his song “DtMF” following his amazing performance at the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. His Super Bowl appearance helped drive a massive audience to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, which in turn boosted his song “DtMF” to the top of the charts. This is the first time that Bad Bunny has had a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, although he did share the #1 spot when Cardi B’s song “I Like It”, which he appeared on, hit the #1 spot eight years ago. I’m guessing this won’t be the last time Bad Bunny has a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

🦞 AI

Peter Steinberger, the guy who created the viral software hit OpenClaw, is now joining OpenAI to help Sam Altman lead the development of the next generation of personal artificial intelligence agents. The decision by Sam Altman and OpenAI to hire Peter Steinberger comes as OpenAI has reached a valuation of $500 billion dollars, and it comes hot the heels of OpenAI’s acquisition of Jony Ive’s io Products for $6.5 billion dollars in order to design and launch an AI hardware product for the company sometime in 2026.

🪙 Crypto

Elon Musk ‘s X is preparing to launch a new feature called Smart Cashtags that will allow their 388 million monthly active users to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies right in their feed. This project is part of Elon Musk’s goal to build an everything app, and it’s another step toward the launch of the X Money payment system that will allow users to manage their entire financial life from right inside X. I can’t decide if this is the most exciting news I’ve ever heard from X, or the most terrifying.

📱 Space

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman just announced that astronauts will now be able to bring their Apple iPhones on future missions for the primary use of the phone’s camera, so astronauts will be able to record high quality videos for their families and the public. This is all part of a push by Jared Isaacman to begin modernizing NASA and save money by using off the shelf commercially available technology. Say “Cheese!”

🥊 Sports

Netflix just scored the long awaited primetime MMA fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. This is huge in the world of MMA, because both fighters once were stars in MMA before they each transitioned to acting. The fight is being promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, and will take place at the Intuit Dome in California on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

Netflix’s last big fight was between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua in December 2025 in Miami, Florida, and both fighters walked away with a reported $92 million dollars each from a total purse of $184 million dollars.

No word yet on how much both Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are expected to earn from the fight, but if past Netflix streamed fights are any indication they’ll be doing better than you and me.

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The Business Behind The News is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.