In 2010, during a sit-down with Jay-Z, legendary investor Warren Buffett had said that soon enough, young people would be looking to the rapper for their money-making advice. Now, Jay-Z, who is married to singer-songwriter Beyonce, is worth $2.5 billion. He is also the first billionaire rapper.
“Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll ever teach in,” Buffett said. “For a young person growing up he’s the guy to learn from.”
Forbes had pegged his net worth at $1.4 billion just last year but according to a recent report by the publication, Jay-Z's wealth grew in recent years thanks to his sprawling and diversified empire which included his entertainment company Roc Nation, sale of the streaming service Tidal and investments in companies including Uber -- a move that has been credited as contributing majorly to getting him over the $1 billion mark.
He also had stakes in Armand de Brignac champagne and D’Usse cognac valued at over $400 million at the time, apart from various investment properties in New York and Los Angeles.
“Even in a year without a tour or album release, Jay-Z mints millions from his Armand de Brignac champagne and D’Usse cognac,” the Forbes’s report stated, adding that his fortune is enough to make him the 1,210th wealthiest person in the world.
Last year, Jay-Z opened up about how he functions as a businessman on a talk show. When talking about family and others propositioning him for business deals and investments, he said, "I try to explain to them that it doesn't work that way, money is not just given away, and no one just gives you opportunities. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
A follower of investing in businesses that he can understand and not in the "next hot thing" -- a trait that Jay-Z shares with Warren Buffett -- the rapper told Forbes in 2010, "It’s the discipline not to get caught up in the moment."
"People tend to make emotional decisions based on that. They don’t stick with what they know, you know, ‘This is who I am. This is what I do.’ They jump on this next hot thing. People fall in love with shiny things," he told the publication.
