Jay-Z doesn’t understand why bloggers put him on lists next to other rappers. Well, on Tuesday, Forbes released its World Billionaire list, and Hov stands alone as the only rapper on the list.
According to Forbes, the 4:44 rapper sits at No. 1217 on the list, where he is tied with Oprah Winfrey — who Jay-Z once had in the projects sipping quarter waters — and Donald Trump. The Brooklyn-bred artist is worth $2.5 billion, according to the report.
Forbes also reported the self-proclaimed God MC built his fortune “thanks to his lucrative liquor businesses” and “LVMH [purchasing] a 50% stake in his champagne empire Armand de Brignac, otherwise known as Ace of Spades.”
“His other assets range from a fine art collection including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, his music catalog, and shares in companies like Block and Uber,” Forbes wrote.
Earlier this year, Hov sold his majority stake in D’USSÉ.
“Growing D’ussé over the past decade from an idea to one of the fastest-selling spirits in history has been a blessing,” said Jay-Z in a statement, cited by Robb Report. “The next phase of this journey will further cement D’ussé’s legacy as one of the world’s most respected brands. I am excited to renew this partnership with Bacardi.”
Jay-Z has often been criticized for his capitalist approach to building financial security. Back in September, Jay stirred conversation when people accused him of comparing the word capitalism to a slur.
“We not gone stop,” Jay-Z said during a Twitter Space with hip-hop journalist Rob Markman. “Hip-hop is young. We still growing. We not falling for that trick-nology the public puts out there now. Before it was the American Dream. ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can make it in America’ — all these lies that America told us our whole life. And then when we start getting it, they try to lock us out of it. They start inventing words like ‘capitalist’ and things like that. We’ve been called niggas and monkeys and shit. I don’t care what words y’all come up with. Y’all gotta come with stronger words.”
The rapper born Shawn Carter continued, “We went our alternative route, we made this music, we did our thing. You know, we hustled, we fucking killed ourselves to get to this space and now it’s like, ‘eat the rich.’ Man, we’re not stopping.”