Jay-Z is now the wealthiest rapper-turned-businessman.
On March 24, a new Forbes estimate shows that Jay-Z’s net worth has soared to $2.5 billion.
Billionaire Timeline
In 2020, Jay-Z made headlines when he achieved his $1 billion net worth status. Fast forward to 2022, his net worth jumped to $1.4 billion, which made him the third highest-paid entertainer.This came after he sold his stakes in the music streaming platform Tidal to Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block, Inc. for $302 million in 2021, and his 50 percent stake in champagne brand Armand de Brignac to LVMH in 2022.
In 2019, his Marcy Venture Partners reportedly raised $85 million. It is a venture capital firm investing in consumer, culture, and positive impact.
What took Jay-Z to the $2.5 billion mark was his restructured deal with Bacardi as well as the product’s success, The New York Daily News reported.
The partnership between Jay-Z’s company, SC Liquor, and Bacardi began in 2011. Under the partnership, SC Liquor would build Bacardi’s cognac brand D’ussé. Jay-Z’s D’ussé deal was a 50–50 split. But last year, Jay-Z got into a legal battle with the brand over sales.
As Finurah previously reported, The relationship started to sour when the rapper was denied access to all books, records, and warehouses storing D’ussé barrels, bottles, and accessories.
The Brooklyn rapper wanted details of the physical inventory and the process to, “monitor the conduct of [Bacardi’s] business to protect SC’s rights as,” a partner, TMZ reported.
Then in February, Jay closed on a reported multibillion-dollar deal with Bacardi over his stake in D’ussé. Under the agreement, Bacardi took on a majority interest in the brand, with Jay simultaneously keeping a substantial ownership stake, Complex reported. Jay-Z reportedly sold his controlling stake for $750 million.
“Growing D’ussé over the past decade from an idea to one of the fastest-selling spirits in history has been a blessing,” Jay said in a statement at the time of the deal’s announcement. “The next phase of this journey will further cement D’ussé’s legacy as one of the world’s most respected brands. I am excited to renew this partnership with Bacardi.”
In Major Company
Jay-Z is the 1,209th wealthiest individual in the world. And, his new position of the Forbes list of the world’s richest puts not far behind Oprah Winfrey (1,204th on the ranking with $2.5 billion) and well ahead of billionaires like former NBA star Michael Jordan (1,485th with $2.0 billion) and Apple CEO Tim Cook (1,589th with $1.8 billion).
The Jay-Z Hustle
In a 2022 Twitter Spaces conversation, Jay-Z defended his business hustle. He said, “We went our alternative route, we made this music, we did our thing. You know, we hustled, we f—king killed ourselves to get to this space, and now it’s like, ‘eat the ric.’ Man, we’re not stopping.”
