Jay-Z recently came under fire for comparing the word capitalist to the N-word during a chat on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. The rapper made the comparison while elaborating on the lyrics of God Did - his latest collaboration with DJ Khaled.
The comparison drew flak from netizens, with many pointing out that Jay-Z himself was a billionaire and therefore a product of capitalism. According to CelebrityNetWorth, the 52-year-old rapper's net worth is estimated to be around $1.3 billion.
On August 31, during a Twitter Space conversation with journalist Rob Markman, DJ Khaled, and others, Jay-Z was questioned about one particular line in God Did where he mentions elevating black celebrities like Kanye West and Rihanna. In response, he said:
“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.’ We’ve been called ‘n***er’ and ‘monkeys’ and s**t. I don’t care what words y’all come up with. Y’all gotta come with stronger words.”
Speaking about his journey to becoming a well-known personality in the music industry, Jay-Z said that no one should be ashamed of their success in a system that locked everyone out:
“Y’all created a system that, you know, doesn’t include us. We said fine. We went our alternate route. We created this music. We did our thing, you know, we hustle, we f***ing killed ourselves to get to this space. And, you know, now it’s like, you know, you know, ‘Eat the rich’, and, man, we’re not stopping.”
All we know about Jay-Z's billion-dollar fortune
Currently one of the most influential hip-hop artists in the industry, Jay Z has sold around 140 million records and has 24 Grammy Awards to his name.
His $1.3 billion net worth stems from his significant earnings as a singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, rapper, actor, film producer, and television producer.
Jay-Z is the co-creator of the clothing line Rocawear, which he founded in 1999 with Damon Dash. By the following year, the company was boasting an annual revenue of $50 million every year. At the peak of its popularity, it accumulated $700 million in annual revenue. In 2007, the company’s rights were sold to Iconix Brand Group for $204 million.
In 2014, Jay-Z became the majority owner of the champagne company Armand de Brignac. In 2015, following an acquisition worth $56 million, he became the majority owner of a streaming service named Tidal.
That apart, the rapper has also invested in a real estate deal that builds hotels and condominiums in New York City. He was initially signed to Live Nation for $150 million followed by another deal in 2017 which was worth $200 million.
Jay-Z and his wife Beyonce brought an eight-bedroom mansion in 2008 for $8 million. He sold it for $9.3 million in 2010. In 2017, the couple purchased a mansion worth $26 million in the Hamptons. That same year, they also purchased a 30,000 sq. ft. mansion worth $88 million in California. They are also the owners of a private island in the Bahamas worth $4 million.
Apart from these shared properties, Beyonce owns a New Orleans home worth $2.6 million. In 2004, Jay-Z became the owner of an NYC apartment worth $10 million.
The rapper shot to fame with his first album, Reasonable Doubt, which was released in 1996. He has since released other albums like The Blueprint, The Black Album, American Gangster, and 4:44.
Besides the significant revenue that he earns from his music releases, a bulk of his earnings also comes from his tours, all of which rake in millions of dollars in earnings.
As per CelebrityNetWorth, the rapper became a billionaire in 2019. In light of that, his controversial comments during the Twitter Spaces chat on August 31 drew a lot of criticism from netizens, who cited numerous instances of his capitalistic tendencies.