Rapper and billionaire mogul Jay-Z has been on a roll lately striking deals left and right that are adding cash to his bank accounts. He's made two enormous deals in two weeks – he's selling a majority stake in his music streaming company Tidal to Square for $297 million, which values the company at $450 million. He made $149 million in cash and stock and was made a board member when he bought 33% of Tidal back from T-Mobile just days before selling that plus the 33% he already owned to Jack Dorsey's mobile payment company. Jay-Z still owns a small stake in the company.
This deal came on the heels of the one where he sold half of his stake in his champagne brand Armand de Brignac to Bernard Arnault's LVMH in a deal that valued the champagne brand at $640 million. Jay-Z retained 50% ownership of his luxury champagne brand. Combined, the two deals added about $400 million to his net worth. Suddenly, his 2005 lyric, "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man," makes a heck of a lot of sense. He's had a plan all along.
In addition to the aforementioned companies, he also owns the cognac brand D'Usse, salad restaurant chain Sweetgreen, and insurance startup Ethos. Jay-Z also owns a lot of his own very popular music as well as a growing art collection and several multi-million dollar homes he owns with Beyonce.
Let's take a look at how Jay-Z's various business ventures and assets shake out and what they're worth.
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Real Estate — $50 million
In 2017, Jay-Z and Beyonce purchased two homes: a Bel Air estate for $88 million and a mansion in the East Hamptons for $26 million. Their Bel Air home is worth $5 million more than they purchased it for. Jay-Z also owns the Tribeca penthouse he bought for $6.85 million in 2004.
Art Collection — $70 million
Jay-Z has long been a fan of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat—he even sang about him in his song "Picasso Baby." In 2013, Jay-Z reportedly paid $4.5 million for one. He also owns works by David Hammons, Richard Prince, and Damian Hirst.
Music Catalog — $95 million
Jay-Z has around 300 songs in his music catalog. With the recent boom in the sales of music catalogs, this has driven the worth of Jay-Z's up $20 million in just the last two years. Being the savvy businessman he is, Jay-Z negotiated so that he owns both the publishing rights to his songs and the master recordings—which is a rare feat in the music industry.
D'Usse Cognac Brand — $120 million
In partnership with Bacardi, Jay-Z launched his cognac brand in 2012. It typically sells for about $30 a bottle. However, there are 50 rare bottles out there that are being auctioned off at Sotheby's for $24,000 to $75,000 each. Why so pricey? One of them comes in a diamond-shaped crystal decanter.
Roc Nation — $140 million
Jay-Z founded Roc Nation with Live Nation in 2008. It is a full-service entertainment company that represents some of the biggest names in music and entertainment including Alicia Keys and Rihanna. Roc Nation produces the Super Bowl Halftime Show, has a publishing deal with Random House, and pre-pandemic, put on the Made in America music festival.
Armand de Brignac Champagne Brand — $320 million
Jay-Z's sale of half of his champagne brand to LVMH more than the 2019 valuation of the company. It is currently worth $640 million – more than half a billion.
Cash and Investments — $425 million
Jay-Z has put a good chunk of his roughly $760 million in estimated pre-tax earnings into investments including stakes in Uber, SpaceX, and Square as well as the aforementioned Sweetgreen and Ethos. His oatmilk company Oatly is expected to IPO in 2021 with a $10 billion valuation. Jay-Z invested in the company in July 2020. It is not known how much of a stake he has.
