Jay-Z has been named the world's first hip hop artist to become a billionaire by Forbes.
The magazine said the rapper's wealth "conservatively totals" $1 billion (£800m). Forbes explained that his fortune has grown as a result of Jay-Z helping to build brands, rather than endorsing them.
He holds stakes in businesses such as Uber, Armand de Brignac champagne and D'Usse cognac worth in excessive of $500m in total. His music catalogue is worth an estimated $75m, while he also owns an art collection worth around $50m. He is also a significant figure in music streaming service Tidal, in which he owns a $100m stake. Jay-Z also owns some luxurious property in affluent areas of Los Angeles and New York City.
It was widely believed that Dr Dre was the first after he sold Beats to Apple in 2014, but Forbes said his net worth was comfortably below that figure at $770 million.
One of Jay-Z's lyrics reads "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man", which Forbes says is a big part of how and why the artist, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has built his wealth.
Carter's wife, Beyonce, has an estimated wealth of $355m, mainly through her music and endorsements.
Speaking to Forbes, one of Jay-Z's producers, 'Swiss Beatz' said the artist's financial success was "bigger than hip hop". He said: "It's the blueprint for our culture. A guy that looks like us, sounds like us, loves us, made it to something that we always felt that was above us."
