JAY-Z is officially the first billionaire rapper.
For years, Diddy and JAY-Z have been going neck on neck in their race to a billion dollars net worth, until Dr. Dre joined them two years ago. Forbes is now reporting that Hov is the first hip hop artist to cross the billion-dollar mark and the rap titan did it through a plethora of business investments, touring, and music sales. His empire includes investments in art, liquor, real estate, and other investments.
Back in 2007, JAY-Z sold his clothing brand Rocawear to Iconix for $204 million. His current assets includes $310 million in Armand de Brignac champagne, investment in TIDAL worth $100 million, $75 million from Roc Nation, his music catalog is worth $75 million, he has $70 million in art collection, $50 million in real estate, and $220 million investment in Uber. JAY-Z’s real estate holdings include a $88 million Bel-Air estate and a $26 million East Hampton mansion.
Producer Swizz Beatz, who is a close friend of JAY-Z, spoke with Forbes about the rapper’s billionaire status. “It’s bigger than hip-hop … it’s the blueprint for our culture,” Swizz said. “A guy that looks like us, sounds like us, loves us, made it to something that we always felt that was above us. If he’s a billionaire now, imagine what he’s about to be. Because he’s only just starting.”
JAY-Z previously raps about his wife Beyonce becoming a billionaire. “What’s better than one billionaire? Two (two) /’Specially if they’re from the same hue as you,” he raps on “Family Feud.”
In his recent verse on Meek Mill’s “What’s Free,” Jay-Z declared the brand of his $300 gold bottles of champagne—nicknamed “Ace of Spades”—to be worth “half a b[illion].” We took a slightly more conservative stance at $310 million pic.twitter.com/D5sK1KvgtF
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 3, 2019
