Jay-Z is the first rapper to become a billionaire

Forbes have revealed that Jay-Z is an official billionaire, and first rapper to reach the milestone.

The report revisits an interview with the rapper and billionaire Warren Buffet nine years ago, in which Buffet says of the rapper, "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."

Nearly a decade on and Jay-Z has claimed the billionaire status. His empire of earnings is broken down in the report, adding up his earnings from liquor (Armand de Brignac and D'Ussé), his streaming service Tidal, art, real estate, and his investments, which reveals his original $2million shares in Uber are likely worth $70million now. According to the report, all his investments and earnings "conservatively totals $1 billion."

According to Forbes, the final figure was reached by "looking at the artist’s stakes in companies like Armand de Brignac champagne — applying our customary discount to private firms — then added up his income, subtracting a healthy amount to account for a superstar lifestyle" and were then examined by "a roster of outside experts."