Mr. Worldwide Swaps Stage for Chat With Masters of the Universe

(Bloomberg) -- Rapper Pitbull declared “I’m trying to keep wealth and that’s for real” in his hit record “Rain Over Me.”

Last week he swapped notes with a group skilled at doing just that: private equity executives.

Pitbull, who also goes by Mr. Worldwide, held a fireside chat at the BC Partners investor conference at the W Hotel in Miami, according to people who attended the event. The conversation was led by Manuel Medina, a friend of the rapper’s and chief executive of Cyxtera Technologies Inc., a BC Partners investment.

The conversation, described as “inspiring” by two attendees, was held during an event to update BC Partners investors on the health of its portfolio companies. The rapper, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, discussed his impoverished upbringing in the city and how, rather than merely saving his music earnings, he tapped them to create investment opportunities and businesses such as his vodka and clothing lines.

A spokesman for London-based BC Partners declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kiel Porter in New York at kporter17@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha

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