Jay-Z, through his extensive business interests and personal property holdings, has become the first billionaire rapper, according to a Forbes analysis of the star's holdings.
"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," according to Forbes' Zack O'Malley Greenburg.
Jay-Z, who is married to pop superstar Beyonce Knowles, lists among his holdings a $70 million stake in Uber; a $70 million art collection; owns the streaming service Tidal; owns the Roc Nation sports management company, and has $50 million in real estate holdings and his music catalog.
His wife is a multimillionaire as well, with Forbes estimating her net worth in 2018 at $355 million, placing her solidly on Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women.
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, grew up in a Brooklyn housing project and was a drug dealer before becoming a musician, reports Forbes. He started his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records to release his debut album, "Reasonable Doubt" in 1996. Earlier this year, his sixth album, "The Blueprint," which came out in 2001, was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry."
In 2014, Dr. Dre claimed he had become hip-hop's first billionaire after selling Beats Music, his headphones and streaming music service, to Apple, reports CNN. The deal did make his net worth about $1.1 billion, but taxes cut it back so his worth was below the $1 billion mark.