— By Melissa Kimble
When it comes to having receipts, no one can stand by his bravado like the rapper born Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter. Mr. Carter dominated this year alongside his wife, Beyoncé, who headlined the 2018 Global Citizens Festival in South Africa and also helped to raise $6 million for charity. Now, the rapper-turned-exec is not only closing out the year as the fifth wealthiest celebrity on the Forbes’ list, but this spot now makes him the wealthiest musician on the list — and in America!
According to the Forbes, JAY-Z only follows behind George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan with his net worth of $900 million. Even though he’s tied with Travis Scott’s girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, for the fifth spot; he is the public figure who saw the biggest dollar gains out of the top five.
Other reports show that Jay’s net worth has risen $90 million in the last year because of his stakes in various companies including entertainment giant Roc Nation, streaming service Tidal and liquor companies Armand de Brignac and D’Ussé. Earlier this year, the “On The Run II” world tour earned the Carters over $253.5 million and sold a reported 2,177,000 tickets. When breaking down the tour by the numbers, it showed that Beyoncé and JAY-Z maintained an average barometer of $5.28 million each night.
In the race to reach billionaire status in hip hop, JAY-Z beat out Diddy this year, who lands on the list at number eight right with a networth of $825 million. Rolling Stone also shared that Dr. Dre was reported to have an estimated net worth of $770 million earlier this year, and the number has likely climbed after his “stock-rich exit from Apple” this fall.
Rounding out the list of Forbes’ highest ranking hip hop artists is Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole; respectively earning $58M, $47M and $35.5M.