Hip-hop star turned business mogul Jay-Z has become the world’s richest rapper as his net worth recently soared to $2.5billion. A Forbes report published last week discovered that Jay-Z is now the 1,203rd wealthiest person on the planet.
Currently, the French business magnate Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, holds the top spot globally, with a reported net worth of $216.1billion. The report recognised that Jay-Z’s staggering bank balance far surpasses his music. “Even in a year without a tour or album release, Jay-Z mints millions from his Armand de Brignac champagne and D’Usse cognac,” it reads.
“The Brooklyn-born rapper was crowned hip-hop’s first billionaire by Forbes in 2019, thanks to a sprawling and diversified empire,” the report adds, noting his assets range from his Roc Nation entertainment and sports empire to “a fine-art collection including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat.”
Jay-Z’s recent surge is partially attributable to a recent booze deal. In February, he sold a 50 per cent stake in D’Usse cognac back to its parent company Bacardi for a reported $750 million following a lengthy court battle.
With recent surges in profits, Jay-Z has consolidated his position among the billionaire boys club. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs joined the club last October thanks to the continued success of his Ciroc partnership with Diageo, DeLeon Tequila and the REVOLT network. He currently ranks at number two on the hip-hop rich list after displacing Kanye West.
In recent months, West lost his status as a billionaire after Adidas abandoned the Yeezy partnership amid the rapper’s anti-Semitism controversies. In October 2022, it was reported that West’s $1.5 billion peak net worth had been diminished to $400 million after losing the deal with the German sports brand.
