Jay-Z First Rapper to Become a Billionaire

Multi-hyphenate mogul and political activist Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, is now a billionaire thanks to a throng of business ventures from a $310 million stake in Armand de Brignac champagne to an estimated $70 million investment in Uber, Forbes reports.

The rapper and entrepreneur has now joined the ranks of the very few entertainers who have become billionaires, according to Forbes.

“Jay-Z’s steadily growing kingdom is expansive, encompassing liquor, art, real estate (homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, Tribeca) and stakes in companies like Uber,” the magazine noted.

Fellow billionaire Warren Buffett offered up high praise to Jay-Z nearly a decade ago. “Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll ever teach in. For a young person growing up, he’s the guy to learn from,” Buffett said in 2010.

Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, the producer for some of Jay-Z’s biggest hits, also said that the rapper is a model for America.

“It’s bigger than hip-hop,” Dean 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.”

“If he’s a billionaire now, imagine what he’s about to be,” Dean added. “Because he’s only just starting.”

Naturally, Jay-Z is also the toast of the far-left for his constant left-wing pronouncements and anti-Trump screeds.

The rapper was a leader in urging musicians to boycott last year’s Super Bowl, for instance, because of the league’s supposed mistreatment of former player and national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick. Jay-Z even criticized rapper Travis Scott for daring to accept the half time gig.

Jay-Z has also gone after rival Kanye West for West’s perceived coziness with President Donald Trump. Last November, he slammed West telling him, “enjoy your chains.”

The billionaire rapper has also chimed on a number of left-wing topics, such as the evils of “white privilege,” has honored Trayvon Martin as a “beacon of light,” and even told a little girl at one of his concerts that America is sexist and racist.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.