Comedian and actor Kevin Hart has revealed that he turned down an investment opportunity with Uber which could have generated multimillion dollars today. According to him, he once declined an opportunity to invest between $50,000 to $75,000 in ridesharing app Uber, which is now valued at $93.74 billion, as per Companies Market.
The comedian made the revelation on his “Hart to Heart” podcast show when he shared that talent manager and investor Troy Carter gave him an opportunity to fund Uber during its early stages, Finurah reported.
In retrospect, Hart said he should have taken the offer, adding that the investment could have amounted to $100 million.
“There’s nothing worse than being pitched something that you just can’t see… I had the opportunity to invest in Uber in early stages,” Hart noted. He further explained, “This makes me so mad. Shout out to Troy Carter. Troy Carter tells me, ‘Kev, there’s this thing, man. It’s called Uber. You gotta invest in it. Listen, it’s easy to understand, right?”
He continued, “It’s basically like strangers giving people they don’t know rides. Like people can call on other people for rides.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘People can just, there’s an app and you say you need a ride, and whoever’s close to you that is like one of the drivers under our app will come get you.”
“I was like, ‘Sounds like murderville to me.’ He’s like, ‘No man, it’s Uber. Trust me, man. They’re gonna have like different tiers to it.’ I said, ‘This got to be the stupidest sh-t I ever heard,” Hart recalled saying.
Still, Hart is one of the richest comedians right now. A Philadelphia-born native, he started his career in comedy after performing at an amateur night held in a Philadelphia-area club. He was also featured on ABC’s “The Big House,” but his act did not resonate with his audiences, leading to the cancellation of the show after six episodes.
He went into comedy, drawing inspiration from comedians like Chris Tucker, among others, and later reworked his act to get his career back on track. His career rebounded in 2006 when he released his first stand-up album, “I’m a Little Grown Man.”
This cemented his career as one of the best emerging young comedians in the 2000s. His second album, “Seriously Funny,” was released in 2010 and proved to be even bigger. He later released a series of comedies in 2011 and 2013.
Hart’s success in comedy landed him a number of movie roles. He got movie recognition when he was featured in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Soul Plane,” and “Little Fockers.” Since then, he has starred in several movies. His project, “True Story,” on Netflix, sees the Philly-based comedian in his first dramatic role.
His success in comedy and movies also earned him a gig in event hosting. In 2012, he hosted the MTV Award Show and other high-profile events. Aside from comedy, acting, and hosting events, Hart is also a prolific investor with a decent business portfolio.
