Jay-Z Becomes First Hip-Hop Billionaire

Jay-Z is the first hip-hop billionaire thanks to business ventures in music, real estate, liquor, art and more.

According to Black Enterprise, his fortune comes from the following assests – Armand de Brignac champagne (worth $310 million), investments in companies like Uber (worth $220 million), D’Ussé Cognac (worth $100 million), Tidal (worth $100 million) and RocNation (worth $75 million) with nearly $200 million coming from his music catalog, his art collection and his real estate.

If the calculations are correct, Jay-Z would join a very short list of black billionaires in the United States. The list is comprised of Robert F. Smith, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Vista Equity Partners, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and David Steward who earned most of his riches from his involvement in the launch of World Wide Technology.

Jay-Z’s earnings go beyond just what’s in his wallet. The rapper is known for partaking in charitable causes and has even taken people under his wing and taught them a thing or two about investing. For example, his RocNation signee, Rihanna, recently became the richest female singer with a reported net worth of $600 million. Her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty was reported as having a worth or $3 billion just two years after its official launch.

The 22-time Grammy Award winner is married to Beyoncé and hails from Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood where he often battle-rapped with fellow hip-hop legends Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie, and Busta Rhymes. Biggie was signed by P. Diddy, a friend and fierce competitor of Jay-Z’s. P. Diddy, who has a climbing reported net worth of $820 million was often thought to become hip-hop’s first billionaire due to his investments in Ciroc and Sean Jean.

Jay-Z has kept a low profile since the ending of his co-headlining tour with Beyoncé, On the Run Pt. 2 proving that real G’s move in silence.

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