Jay-Z is the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire, according to the new cover story in Forbes.
What We Know:
- Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z was born December 4, 1969. We know him as an American rapper, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and record executive. Considered among the best rappers of all time, he is regarded as one of the world’s most significant cultural icons and has been a global figure in popular culture for over two decades.
- The artist’s primary holdings follow, which Forbes calculated by “looking at 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,” which were then vetted by “a roster of outside experts.”
- Forbes ticked through the various businesses that Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, either owns or has a stake in, including:
- a $70 million stake in Uber
- his ownership of the streaming service Tidal
- his $70 million art collection
- his ownership of the Roc Nation sports management company
- $50 million in assorted real estate holdings and his music catalog.
- Jay-Z is also married to superstar Beyonce, who herself amasses a net worth of $355 million
- Notably, in 2014, music mogul Dr. Dre claimed he was hip-hop’s first billionaire after he sold Beats Music to Apple. While that deal pushed Dre’s net worth to about $1.1 billion, state and local taxes ultimately nudged it to just below the $1 billion-dollar mark.
HOVA!
