Jay-Z and his steady pivot between an elite-level recording artist to one of the savviest businessmen of his era have been well documented over the past decade and more. In a new piece from Forbes, the veteran Brooklyn wordsmith is in a company of his own after becoming the first rapper to join the billionaires club.

Forbes writes:

Less than a decade later, it’s clear that 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. Jay-Z’s steadily growing kingdom is expansive, encompassing liquor, art, real estate (homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, Tribeca) and stakes in companies like Uber.

His journey is all the more impressive given its start: Brooklyn’s notorious Marcy housing projects. He was a drug dealer before becoming a musician, starting his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records, to release his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt. Since then he’s amassed 14 No. 1 albums, 22 Grammy awards and over $500 million in pretax earnings in a decade.

Crucially, he realized that he should build his own brands rather than promote someone else’s: the clothing line Rocawear, started in 1999 (sold for $204 million to Iconix in 2007); D’Ussé, a cognac he co-owns with Bacardi; and Tidal, a music-streaming service.

Read the entire profile on Jay-Z’s inspirational climb from Marcy Projects to becoming a billionaire by following this link.

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Photo: Getty

Source: HipHopWired.com

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