Debby Wong/Shutterstock | The rapper’s music career first took off in the 1990s
The rapper’s music career first took off in the 1990s, after which he wasted no time making his first business move by founding Roc-A-Fella Record in 1995. In the decades that followed, Jay-Z didn’t just establish himself as a talented musician but also as a business powerhouse who wanted to take his legacy beyond the music industry.
Roc-A-Fella Records was the first of many companies Jay-Z would start over the years. The rapper founded several other record companies, backed successful startups with millions in investment money, launched his own clothing brand, and even ventured into the streaming business with Tidal. His entrepreneurial spirit even shows in the lyrics of a famous song in which he sings, “I’m not a businessman — I’m a business, man.”
With a net worth of over $810 million, here are some of Jay-Z’s most noteworthy achievements that have made him the second-richest rapper in Hollywood, following P Diddy.
Roc-A-Fella Records
Beyonce/Instagram | Jay-Z and Beyonce are worth $1.5 billion
In 1995, the rapper took all the money he earned from selling his albums and put it into his own label. Roc-A-Fella was initially a small recording company he started with some of his then-associates, but it eventually grew into a multi-million-dollar label, signing iconic singers like Kanye West and Rihanna. However, in 2013, Jay-Z moved on to his second successful label called Roc Nation.
Rocawear
He didn’t just stop at record labels. He also launched his own clothing line called Rocawear that was boasting revenue of $700 million in the early 2000s when the urban brand was at the peak of its popularity.
The company was a joint venture with Dash, although the two partners had a falling out in 2006, after which Jay-Z took sole ownership of Rocawear, later selling it to Iconix Brand Group for $204 million.
Tidal
TPOphoto/Deposit Photos | Tidal is now streaming in 54 countries
In 2015, Jay-Z had enough money to buy any company he wanted, so he decided to acquire a Norwegian streaming platform called Tidal, which was given a complete rebranding and an elaborate press conference where the new CEO announced Madonna, Kanye West, J.Cole and many other famous artists as the stakeholders in his new venture.
After gaining millions of subscribers, the rapper sold 33% of the company to Sprint for $200 million.
