The rise in fortune of the 49-year-old husband of Beyonce is all the more impressive given his deprived start in life.
He was raised on the notorious Marcy Houses projects in Brooklyn by a single mum after his dad left when he was 11, survived being shot at, lost friends to deаth and jail, and famously dealt crаck cоcaine which he credits with honing his future business nous.
“I know about budgets. I was a Ԁrug dealer,” he once told Vanity Fair.
In the ultimate rag-to-riches tale, it was music that helped propel him out a Ԁire situation, and he went from selling CDs from his car to founding the hugely successful Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995, selling over 100m records and nabbing 22 Grammy Awards.
18The rapper husband of Beyonce now lives a luxury lifestyle a world away from his poverty-stricken New York upbringing
Alongside this, Jay-Z founded entertainment company Roc Nation, created his own champagne brand, bought music streaming service Tidal, and has invested in tech start-ups like Uber.
And the man who once rapped “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man” certainly knows how to spend the fruits of his labour – splashing his cash on a £69m mansion and a pair of £2k animal skin trainers.
£69m Bel-Air mansion with recording studio
The rapper splits his time between three stunning homes in the United States.
There’s the £69m Bel-Air home with eight bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, four pools, a 15-car garage, bulletproof windows and a recording studio.
18He shares a £69m Bel-Air home with his family
His £20m waterfront home in the East Hamptons boasts seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms with heated bathtubs, as well as imported Venetian floors and 18th-century French Louis XV carved stone fireplaces worth £49,000 each.
£2m former church
In New Orleans, he stays in a £2m former Presbyterian Church which features three master bedrooms, a huge dining table and lots of quirky decor.
18They also own a £20m pad in the East Hamptons
18And a £2m converted Presbyterian Church in New Orleans
Jewellery collection including £190k solid gold chain necklace
However, it’s his bling where the star really splashes out.
There’s his iconic £191,000 solid gold chain necklace, a Hublot Big Bаng watch worth an estimated £60,000 and a £10,000 panther ring from Cartier.
18Jay-Z owns some pricey jewellery – including a £190k gold chain like the one pictured hereCredit: Instagram
£26k sapphire ring ‘push present’ for Bey
The rapper sure knows how to treat one of the most adored wоmen on the planet – he regularly flies Beyonce on romantic trips to Paris where they stay in the £15,350-a-night penthouse suite at Hotel Le Meurice with incredible views of the Eiffel Tower.
He also bought her a 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, worth £767,000, for her 25th birthday, and for the 2017 birth of their twins gave her a £26,000 blue sapphire ring as a ‘push present’.
18For the 2017 birth of their twins Jay-Z gave Beyonce this £26k sapphire ring
18On romantic getaways to Paris they stay in the penthouse suite at the £15k-a-night Hotel Le Meurice
Family holidays on £3m private Bahamas island and £50m yacht
Jay-Z goes just as big on his well-deserved downtime, and jets to a number of exotic locations with his 37-year-old pop star wife, their seven-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, and one-year-old girl and boy twins Rumi and Sir.
He has purchased his own £3m private island in the Bahamas, according to Hello! magazine.
18The family often spend time on their own £3m private island in the Bahamas
18They share their luxury holidays on their Instagram accounts
In 2013, Jay-Z treated Beyonce for her 32nd birthday to a stay on a £275,000 triple-decker yacht with sauna, pool and a helipad. They got through £23,000-worth of champagne during the five-day trip from Spain to Italy.
And in 2015, they travelled on £50m yacht, Galatica Star – owned by Nigerian energy magnate Kola Aluko – which can sleep 12 guests for £580,000 a week.
18The couple have also enjoyed expensive getaways aboard yachts
