How much did Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine sell beats to Apple for?

In 2014, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre sold Beats Music and Beats Electronics to Apple for $3 billion. However, bar Dr. Dre’s premature announcement of the deal, Iovine and Dr. Dre could have earned $200 million more from the sale.

According to XDA Developers, while the deal was being finalized, Iovine gathered his team and explained what would happen next.

Iovine also warned that “the only thing that could spoil it would be word of the deal leaking.”

Unfortunately, Dr. Dre celebrated the acquisition too soon, posting a video online with singer and actor Tyrese Gibson.

Gibson mentioned Beats headphones and how a recently released Forbes billionaires list needed an update, alluding to something that would have increased Dr. Dre’s net worth. In the video, Dr. Dre confirmed his status as the “first billionaire in hip-hop.”

It didn’t take long for the video to go viral, with Iovine receiving a call about the incident from Sean Combs, better known as Puff Daddy, in the early morning.

Iovine was understandably concerned, but despite the circumstances, Tim Cook was unfazed.

Cook was still convinced that Apple’s acquisition of Beats was a good move.

Following the incident, Cook would hold a private meeting, admitting the error but “demanding” an adjustment, lowering its initial bid by $200 million.

This is how Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine “lost” $200 million from the Beats deal.