Over the past two weeks, the rapper struck deals to sell his boutique music streaming service and half of his champagne brand Armand de Brignac, adding an enormous pile of cash to his already massive fortune.
“Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational,” Jay-Z said in 2010 when Forbes got a ringside seat to the rapper’s first meeting in Omaha with billionaire investor Warren Buffett. “It always broke that notion that an artist can't think about money as well.”
More than a decade later, the rapper-turned-billionaire is showing exactly what he means: In his second major deal in as many weeks, Jay-Z inked a deal to sell a majority stake in music streaming company Tidal to Jack Dorsey’s mobile payment company Square for $297 million. The transaction valued the company at about $450 million—$150 million more than Forbes’ 2019 estimate. Forbes figures he netted out $149 million in cash and stock—and got a board seat—after buying back 33% of Tidal from T-Mobile earlier this week and then selling that and the third he already owned. Tidal’s “artist shareholders” will continue to have a stake in the company, and Jay-Z will own a small percentage, as well.
This comes a week after he sold half of his Armand de Brignac champagne to LVMH in a deal that valued the luxury liquor company at about $640 million.
The two deals helped lift the fortune of hip-hop’s first billionaire to $1.4 billion, up from $1 billion.
It’s just the start. His diverse and growing business includes the remaining 50% stake in the $300-per-bottle Armand de Brignac, as well as D’Usse cognac and a collection of less-sexy startups including insurance startup Ethos and salad chain Sweetgreen. He also owns a chunk of his own music, shares multiple multi-million dollar mansions with his wife Beyoncé and has a growing art collection.
In 2005 he laid down the now prophetic lyric, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”
Here’s how it breaks down:
Cash and Investments: $425 million
Jay-Z has been singing about the importance of spending money wisely for years—and he’s done just that, pouring a good portion of his $760 million estimated earnings (pretax) into investments. His holdings include stakes in Uber and now Square, as well as in private companies like salad chain Sweetgreen, insurance startup Ethos and SpaceX. His next likely big win: Oatmilk company Oatly is expected to IPO this year and is reportedly seeking a $10 billion valuation. He invested an undisclosed amount in July 2020.
Armand de Brignac: $320 million
Last week, Jay-Z announced he was selling half of his champagne company, also known as Ace of Spades, to luxury house LVMH’s Moët Hennessy. Forbes estimates that the deal valued the gold-bottled bubbly brand at $640 million—or more than double its estimated value in 2019 and even more than the “half a B” Jay-Z himself rapped about on Meek Mill’s 2018 song “What’s Free.”
Roc Nation: $140 million
Jay-Z’s joint-venture with Live Nation was founded in 2008 and is a full-service entertainment company serving some of the biggest names in the biz, from musicians Rihanna and Alicia Keys to athletes Kyrie Irving and CC Sabathia. The company is responsible for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Made in America music festival and even has a publishing deal with Random House. While the pandemic has slowed the company’s live-touring business, it was growing steadily prior to Covid-19.
D’Usse: $120 million
A partnership with liquor giant Bacardi, Jay-Z’s cognac launched in 2012. While it typically retails for a reasonable $30 per bottle, fifty rare bottles—including a diamond-shaped crystal decanter—are currently at auction at Sotheby’s for an estimated price tag of $24,000 to $75,000 each.
Music Catalog: $95 million
With multiples for music catalogs on the rise, Jay-Z’s library of nearly 300 songs is worth $20 million more now than it was two years ago, and thanks to a series of smart negotiations, he owns both the publishing rights and master recordings to his music.
Art Collection: $70 million
A fan of Jean-Michel Basquiat—he raps about having one in his kitchen on his song“Picasso Baby” and reportedly spent $4.5 million on one in 2013—Jay-Z’s impressive art collection also features works by Damian Hirst, David Hammons and Richard Prince. He sees the collection as an investment. As he sang on “The Story of O.J.”: “I bought some artwork for one million, Two years later, that sh*t worth two million, Few years later, that sh*t worth eight million, I can't wait to give this sh*t to my children.”
Real Estate: $50 million
Jay-Z and Beyoncé picked up two homes in 2017 after giving birth to their twins: an $88 million Bel Air mansion and $26 million East Hamptons spread. The Los Angeles home is already worth $5 million more than the purchase price. Proving that the couple is, in fact, human, they still have a mortgage on the home. He also still owns his Tribeca penthouse bachelor pad that he bought in 2004 for $6.85 million.
According to Forbes, Jay-Z's net worth has gone from $1 billion to $1.4 billion just two weeks after he struck deals to sell his music streaming service Tidal and half of his champagne brand Armand de Brignac — better known as Ace of Spades — to elevate his business portfolio.
JAY-Z and Roc Nation CEO, Desiree Perez will stay on and help run TIDAL. Bloomberg previously noted that the deal would consist of Square Inc. paying $297 million in cash and stocks. Alongside these details, it was also announced that Jay would sit on the board of directors after the deal goes through.
Through his business ventures, Jay-Z became the first hip-hop billionaire in 2019. In 1999, he co-founded the clothing retailer Rocawear and later founded the 40/40 Club, a luxury bar chain, in 2003.
Jay-Z achieved billionaire status through a combination of his successful music career, various business ventures (including Roc Nation and his clothing line Rocawear), and strategic investments in companies like Uber and Armand de Brignac.
His holdings include stakes in Uber and now Square, as well as in private companies like salad chain Sweetgreen, insurance startup Ethos and SpaceX. His next likely big win: Oatmilk company Oatly is expected to IPO this year and is reportedly seeking a $10 billion valuation.
Jay Z is leading the charge by buying the Swedish music company Aspiro and branding it in the United States as Tidal. The celebrity backlash to music downloading and streaming services has been happening since the Metallica and Dr. Dre lawsuit against discontinued file sharing service Napster.
Tidal is now majority-owned by Block, Inc., an American payment processing company that is owned by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. With distribution agreements with all three major record labels and many independent labels, Tidal claims to provide access to more than 80 million tracks and 350,000 music videos.
Jay-Z invested in Uber in 2013 for $2 million. The ride-sharing app company is now worth nearly $60 billion, according to Forbes. Jay's stake in the company is now valued at around $70 million.
Update: According to a report from CBS Sports, there is no plan for JAY-Z to become part-owner of an NFL team. However, the report does stress that it doesn't mean it can't happen in the future. But, as of now, there is nothing written that says Jay will be part owner of a team.
Jay-Z, whose name is Shawn Carter, is a multihyphenate and hip-hop's first billionaire. He is a rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur married to singer Beyoncé.
Jay-Z held a minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets for nearly a decade. Over the next decade, Jay-Z and Beyonce were courtside regulars at Nets games. However, in 2013, Jay-Z sold his shares at a loss of 500,000 dollars due to his involvement in Roc Nation Sports.
Jay-Z has said that he would never sell his masters as getting the rights to them was the “fight of my life”. The 53-year-old American rapper and record producer, real name Shawn Corey Carter, spoke to CBS Morning's Gayle King about his music career and why it is important that he owns his masters.
Best do it at the rapper-mogul's 40/40 Club in New York City. The 12,000-square-foot space is branded as an upscale sports bar and on the menu you'll find favorites like buffalo wings and modern updates on classics like king crab sliders.
The closure of the New York City location comes after years of hardship for the venue. In 2011, carpenter workers protested against The 40/40 Club over labor disputes. A year later, Jay-Z sued the lounge's former chef Mike Shand for $1.5 million due to a failed revamping of the food menu.
UPDATE: A Square spokesperson tells MBW that TMZ's report is inaccurate, and that the final aggregate consideration (price) of the deal was $302 million. Considering that's for 80% of TIDAL, this gives the music streaming company a total valuation of approximately $377.5 million.
Square sees an opportunity to leverage those learnings to help musicians find new ways to support their work and make better decisions through TIDAL. “It comes down to one simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work,” said Jack Dorsey, cofounder and CEO of Square.
The committee also learned that Carter personally loaned TIDAL $50 million to help the troubled company through its difficulties and that Dorsey was the sole Block management member in support of the acquisition. Despite the obvious problems with the deal, the committee approved the transaction for $306 million.
On average, TIDAL pays out around $0.013 per stream in 2023. TIDAL is one of the select few streaming services which pays out more than 1 cent per stream, with artists needing roughly 80 streams to earn a dollar and 80,000 streams to earn $1000 (roughly £880).
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
