Jay-Z’s hard-knock life is long behind him.
According to Forbes, the Bedford-Stuy rapper, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and record executive born Shawn Carter is the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire. The cover story surveys his entire media empire, from Roc Nation to Rocawear to Tidal to D’Ussé, which they determinate “conservatively totals $1 billion.”
More specifically, they studied “the artist’s stakes in companies like Armand de Brignac champagne — applying our customary discount to private firms — then added up his income, subtracting a healthy amount to account for a superstar lifestyle.” They then vetted the results with a “a roster of outside experts.”
You can see the complete breakdown below and read the full report here. For those asking, Diddy and Dr. Dre rank as the second and third wealthiest rappers, with a net worth of $820 and $770 million, respectively.
Armand de Brignac champagne
$310 million
Cash & investments, including a stake in Uber worth an estimated $70 million
$220 million
D’Ussé cognac
$100 million
Tidal streaming service
$100 million
Roc Nation
$75 million
Music catalog
$75 million
Art collection
$70 million
Real estate
$50 million
Needless to say, this song seems all the more appropriate as of this morning:
