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You can’t knock his hustle. Jay-Z reached billionaire status — and became the first billionaire rapper — in June 2019 and never looked back. While much of his wealth has come from his rap career, the husband of Beyoncé also has various business ventures to his name. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has continued to have a steadily rising net worth through the years.
What Is Jay-Z’s Net Worth?
Jay-Z’s net worth as of 2024 is estimated to be $2 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth. However, Forbes estimated the rapper’s net worth to be much higher at $2.5 billion.
In 2022, Jay-Z landed in the No. 3 spot on the outlet’s list of highest-paid entertainers after he made $340 million in 2021. He came behind Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who earned $580 million, and Bruce Springsteen, who earned $435 million.
How Does Jay-Z Earn Money?
Jay-Z, Damon “Dame” Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke cofounded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995. The “Can’t Knock the Hustle” rapper’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, came along not long after, followed by In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. In 1997 and Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life in 1998. This album contained his first big hit, “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).”
Jay-Z went on to release 10 more solo albums throughout his career and four collaborative albums. He has earned 24 Grammy Awards, tying with Beyoncé for the most nominations in the ceremony’s history with 88 each. Additionally, Billboard and Vibe named Jay-Z the greatest rapper of all time in 2023, while Forbes listed him at No. 1 on the list of the 50 top rappers of all time in 2024.
In addition to his successful music career, which has comprised of rapping, songwriting and producing, Jay-Z has become quite the businessman. However, the musician once said in 2005, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”
His ventures have spanned multiple industries, including clothing (Rocawear and an endorsement deal with Reebok), beverages (a $200 million investment in Armand de Brignac champagne) and technology (a $56 million acquisition of Aspiro, the company operating the music streaming service Tidal). Jay-Z also co-owns the sports bar 40/40 Club.
Jay-Z also became a published author in 2010 with the book Decoded.
Jay-Z Accused of Raping 13-Year-Old Girl With Diddy in Lawsuit
On December 8, 2024, Jay-Z was named alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs in a lawsuit accusing the rappers of raping a 13-year-old girl at a 2000 MTV Video Music Awards after-party in New York. The suit was initially filed against Diddy in October by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee, but the lawyer refiled it to include Jay-Z, NBC News reported.
In the filing, an anonymous accuser known as “Jane Doe” claimed that she was dropped off at a house party and given what she believed was a nondisclosure agreement to sign. She was allegedly then offered a drink that made her feel “woozy, lightheaded and felt [like] she needed to lie down,” according to court documents obtained by the outlet.
Jane claimed that Jay-Z and Diddy then entered the room and both rappers raped her while an unnamed female celebrity watched. The accuser claimed that she escaped the room by hitting Diddy in the neck and fleeing the scene with her clothes.
Jay-Z responded to the lawsuit in a social media post on the day of the filing, claiming that the lawyer had attempted to “blackmail” him.
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” he wrote. “No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!”
The “Empire State of Mind” rapper continued, “These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case. This lawyer, who I have done a lot of research on, seems to have a pattern of these types of theatrics!”
Jay-Z called Buzbee a “deplorable human” and noted that he would fight the allegations. The rapper also reflected on the “heartbreak” he felt for his own family, including Beyoncé and kids Blue Ivy, Sir and Rumi.
“My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people,” he wrote. “I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirits.”
Jay also offered his “heart and support” to the “true victims in the world.” He concluded that there had been a “terrible error in judgment” in “thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same.”
“I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain,” the producer wrote. “Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”
An attorney for Jay-Z filed a response on December 9, 2024, asking the court to require the accuser to reveal her identity or dismiss the lawsuit, according to court documents obtained by In Touch.
Diddy, who has been behind bars on sex trafficking and racketeering charges since his September 18 arrest, has denied all allegations made against him in multiple lawsuits. Legal representatives for the rapper maintained his innocence in a statement to NBC News, calling the new lawsuit and all others “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
“As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor,” the statement concluded.
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