Jay Z is the first hip hop artist to land billionaire status.

A combination of successful companies, a lucrative catalog of music, smart investments and real estate holdings all contribute to the mogul’s considerable wealth, according to a new Forbes story on Monday.

Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, has amassed a fortune that ‘conservatively totals $1 billion’, making him one of only a handful of entertainers to reach such staggering wealth.

He has invested wisely in companies like Uber, started his own record label and clothing line and also diversified his wealth with an art collection and real estate.

Cheers to that! Jay Z has been officially dubbed a billionaire by Forbes who claims he is the first hip-hop star to claim that honor, on Monday

He has scored 14 No. 1 albums, 22 Grammy awards and more than $500 million in pre-tax earnings, according to the magazine.

The financial outlet has been keeping an eye on the rapper’s wealth since it first featured him on the 2010 cover of the Forbes 400 – a ranking of the 400 richest Americans – alongside Warren Buffet.

The American business magnate said of the Grammy award winning rapper: ‘Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll ever teach in.

‘For a young person growing up, he’s the guy to learn from.’

He tied for fifth place on Forbes’ list of wealthiest stars with Kylie Jenner in 2018.

Jay Z has made a series of smart business choices like stakes in swanky booze brands Armand de Brignac champagne and D’Ussé cognac which the outlet claims are worth $310 million and $100 million respectively.

He started his clothing line Rocawear in 1999 before selling it for $204 million to Iconix in 2007.

‘Jay Z has accumulated a fortune that conservatively totals $1 billion, making him one of only a handful of entertainers to become a billionaire—and the first hip-hop artist to do so,’ Forbes writes.

He told the magazine: ‘Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational.’

HOW DID JAY Z MAKE HIS MONEY?

Forbes has named Jay Z the first billionaire hip-hop star after the savvy musician launched his own fashion label, invested in liquor, art and even Uber and some smart investments in real estate h in LA, the Hamptons and NYC.

But how exactly did the musician become a billionaire?

Liquor – $410 million

Jay Z owns 100% of luxury champagne brand Armand de Brignac and also has a stake in D’Ussé cognac.

The $300 gold bottles of Armand de Brignac featured in his 2006 music video ‘Show Me What You Got’.

He also teamed up with Bacardi for D’Ussé cognac which sells around 200,000 cases and has grown nearly 80 per cent annually.

Art – $70 million

Forbes estimate Jay Z has amassed a $70 million art collection featuring masterpieces like Basquiat’s Mecca.

He raps about his pieces, mentioning the ‘Basquiat in my kitchen corner’ in song Picasso Baby.

Real estate – $50 million

Along with superstar wife Beyonce Jay Z has a $26 million home in the Hamptons, a $88 million Bel Air mansion and a $6.85 million Tribeca penthouse.

Music – $250 million

Jay Z has his own record label, Roc Nation representing some of the biggest stars on the planet, including Rihanna, and worth a reported $75 million.

He also relaunched Tidal with other celebrity investors and that’s though to be worth $100 million.

With around 1 billion streams of his music each year the star’s back catalog of hits is thought to have netted him $75 million.

Uber and other investments – $220 million

After snapping up a stake of ride sharing app Uber now thought to be worth $70 million Jay Z is said to have cash and investments totaling $220 million.

 

The history: Forbes, which featured Jay Z alongside Warren Buffet on the cover in 2010, totaled his assets in everything from companies, investments to real estate

The new profile does a deep dive into the 49-year-old’s finances and totaled up things like his $70 million art collection, $50 million real estate holdings, $220 million in cash and investments, a music catalog worth $75 million and his companies like Tidal and Roc Nation – which total $175 million.

‘It’s bigger than hip-hop… it’s the blueprint for our culture,’ producer Swizz Beatz told Forbes. ‘A guy that looks like us, sounds like us, loves us, made it to something that we always felt that was above us.

‘If he’s a billionaire now, imagine what he’s about to be. Because he’s only just starting.’

Power couple: In addition to Jay’s ‘conservative’ $1B, his wife Beyonce’s net worth was previously valued at $355 million

Jay-Z has scored 14 No. 1 albums, 22 Grammy awards and more than $500 million in pre-tax earnings, according to the magazine

The Tidal founder’s rise to success is particularly notable considering his not only humble beginnings in the Brooklyn projects, but his transition from working street corners as a low level drug dealer to a Grammy winning megastar.

Forbes noted that early on in his career, Jay Z, who once rapped ‘I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man,’ showed his business acumen by eschewing traditional endorsement deals that celebrities traditionally favor for riskier choices.

‘Crucially, he realized that he should build his own brands rather than promote someone else’s,’ they wrote.

‘It’s bigger than hip-hop … it’s the blueprint for our culture,’ producer Swizz Beatz told Forbes. ‘A guy that looks like us, sounds like us, loves us, made it to something that we always felt that was above us’ (Swizz pictured with Jay Z in 2014)

Superstar couple Beyonce and Jay-Z relax onboard a yacht on the Amalfi Coast after finishing the European leg of their world tour in July last year. The Tidal founder’s rise to success is particularly notable considering his humble beginnings in the Brooklyn projects

In addition to the artist’s great individual wealth, there is of course, the addition of his wife Beyonce’s money.

In 2018 the queen’s net worth was valued upwards of $350 million dollars.

Aside from being one of the most sought after performers of all time, Bey is rebranding her clothing company Ivy Park and taking on more acting roles.

The 37-year-old is starring as Nala in the upcoming live action adaptation of Disney’s the Lion King.

In 2014, fellow music star Dr. Dre was said to have become a billionaire after selling his Beats Music headphones and streaming music service to Apple.

But after state and local taxes the deal is though to have fallen just below the $1 billion mark.

Fellow rapper Diddy has an estimated net worth of $825 million.

Forbes say they calculated Jay-Z’s wealth by looking at his stakes in companies and ‘applying our customary discount to private firms’.  They say they then added up his income and took away ‘a healthy amount to account for a superstar lifestyle’.

The outlet says it then also checked the numbers with outside experts.

The receipts: Jay Z reportedly has a $70 million dollar art collection, $50 million dollar real estate holdinds, $220 million in cash and investments, a music catalog worth $75 million dollars and his companies like Tidal and Roc Nation – which total $175 million