With a $1 billion fortune, Jay-Z is officially the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire, according to Forbes.
Certainly more self-made than Kylie Jenner, the 49-year-old father of three has amassed his income through investments in art, entertainment, real estate -- he has properties in Los Angeles and New York -- liquor -- he owns Armand de Brignac -- and his own music catalog.
It's not a secret that the mogul is an avid art collector, and he has preached about the value of investing in art pieces on multiple songs, name-dropping Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso. Forbes estimates his art collection is at $70 million, which, according to reports, includes a $4.5 million Basquiat painting.
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Jay-Z is also a co-founder of the streaming service, Tidal, D’Usse cognac, and Rocawear clothing company, the latter of which he founded in 1999. The streaming platform brings in $100 million and his cognac venture with Bacardi draws in the same amount. His ownership of the $300 gold bottle champagne Armand de Brignac adds an estimated $310 million to his net worth.
Other investments and cash, which Forbes said include Uber, is estimated at $200 million.
Credit: Craig Barritt
Credit: Craig Barritt
But the artist's first love is music. In 2004, when he became president of Def Jam, the label that gave him his start, he notably negotiated the return of his master recordings, which Forbes values at over $75 million. According to the business publication, he also got his publishing rights in a separate deal with EMI.
Since reportedly making Los Angeles their home base in 2017, Jay-Z and his musician wife, Beyonce, have an $88 million Bel Air mansion in addition to a $26 million East Hampton mansion. Separately, the rapper has a $6.85 million penthouse in New York's Tribeca neighborhood.
More information on the business, man's net worth is at Forbes.
