Rapper Jay-Z is world’s first billionaire hip-hop artist, says Forbes
- The rapper amassed his wealth through massive liquor, art and real-estate deals, buying stakes in companies like Uber and starting up streaming service Tidal
- Jay-Z and his wife Beyoncé surpassed the billion-dollar mark in 2017
Jay-Z might have 99 problems, but a fortune ain’t one: the rap mogul is now considered a billionaire.
The bona fide title comes by way of Forbes, the financial magazine known for its annual wealth rankings, which conservatively estimates a 10-figure fortune, accounting for his “superstar lifestyle”. Of equal note, the Brooklyn-bred rapper is reported to be the first hip-hop artist to reach billionaire status.
That is a title that could be contested by fellow mogul Dr Dre, who declared himself “the first billionaire in hip-hop” back in 2014 around the time he cut an estimated US$3.2-billion deal with Apple for Beats Electronics.
However, at the time, Forbes estimated his value climbing to US$800 million, which is not a figure to sneeze at.
Like Dre, though, Jay-Z’s fortune isn’t attributed to his musical success but is a consequence of the name recognition it afforded him. Forbes reported that his empire-building prowess came from recognising “that he should build his own brands rather than promote someone else’s”.
Jay-Z, whose real name is Sean Carter, got his start in the Brooklyn projects as a drug dealer, giving his rags-to-riches tale an ever-aspirational flavour.