Jay-Z is now the world's first hip hop billionaire, according to renowned US business magazine, Forbes.
Brought up in Brooklyn’s notorious Marcy housing projects – one of the toughest New York neighbourhoods - Jay-Z is most certainly self-made. Before becoming a musician, he pushed drugs, but by 1996, he had started his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records, to release his debut record, Reasonable Doubt.
It was the start of things to come: in the 23 years since, Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) has had 14 number one albums, received 22 Grammy awards, and earned more than £300 million in pretax earnings in the last decade.
Jay-Z's mindset and attitude have been key to his successes; his thought process from the outset was to build his own brands rather than promote someone else’s. And look what's happened: his clothing line, Rocawear, which was launched in 1999, was sold for £160 million to Iconix eight years later; and he also co-owns a cognac, D’Ussé, with Bacardi (£80m); and hi-res music streaming service, Tidal, with Kanye West, Calvin Harris, and Beyoncé (£80m). Add to that a £50m stake in Uber (purchased in 2004 for around £1.5m), a £50m art collection, and some £40m in real estate.
