There are a million ways to make a million dollars. And today, we’re looking at how Jay Z got rich.
There are a million ways to make a million dollars, and this is one of them. You guys asked for it, so here’s how to get rich according to Jay Z.
The rap’s first billionaire, Jay Z is at the moment, worth a staggering 2.5 billion USD.
Smart investments, partnerships, and multiple entrepreneurial endeavors made all of this possible.
Warren Buffet had this to say about Jay Z: “For a young person growing up, he’s the guy to learn from”.
So without further ado, let’s see what you can learn from this.
Don’t worry if you don’t feel like reading, you can enjoy the video below or watch it on YouTube:
1
Break free from stereotypes
Jay Z always promoted the idea of breaking free from the stereotypes society tries to put you in.
As he said, society teaches you to spend your money foolishly on things like jewelry and watches, but you should aim to be at a higher level.
It’s important to start your journey with a blank slate. Nobody can tell you who you are or what you’re capable of doing.
You’re just as smart as everyone else. It’s an idea that was also mentioned by Steve Jobs.
He said that if you look around you, everything is built by other people. People who are not smarter, more talented, or more capable than you.
They just saw the opportunity and took it.
People will say things like “Those like us will never be rich”. Or “People like us are not meant for that”. But it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from.
In every family, there’s one person who will break the poverty chain. And that person could be you.
So the first step in Jay Z’s guide to getting rich is to be your own person and not let the status quo dictate your limits.
2
Hustle, whatever your hustle is
From his early days on the streets of Brooklyn to his hundred-million-dollar deals, Jay Z was always a hustler.
And he advises you to become one as well.
In his words, a hustler is anybody who gets up every single day and figures out a way to make good for themselves, in this society.
Anyone who has the drive to make something happen for themselves. It’s about the drive that makes you go at it every single day.
In a way, this is the leverage that only people who grew up in unfavorable conditions can have.
When there are no real job opportunities, no way to make a career for yourself, or no way to get educated to a higher degree, your only real option is to get at it with your own two hands.
Use this as energy and motivation, rather than a thing that holds you back.
3
Create your own brand
Like Jay Z famously said, he’s not a businessman; he’s a business, man.
He decided he’d create his own brand, his own product, and his own merchandise rather than being the pawn of others.
And this mentality allowed him to see opportunities in the market with a clearer vision. That led him to create his own music label, his own clothing line, and so on.
So here’s the thing, we can talk from personal experience on this matter.
Years ago, here on YouTube, there were agencies that were supposed to help young creators with better tools, better reach, and so on. Think of them like talent agencies.
And the way the profit was made was by getting cut from the revenue their creators generated. But the thing is, it was a pretty hefty cut.
We were also approached by such an agency a while back. And we respectfully declined. The thing is, once you give up control over yourself, you are done.
This happens a lot, in any industry.
We’re living in a time where the tools you need to create your own thing are widely available.
It will always be a good idea to create your own thing rather than sell your soul to the highest bidder.
4
Ownership is key
The trend of owning your own stuff is prevalent throughout Jay-Z’s music and is a huge part of how he got rich.
He started Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995, which allowed him to keep most of the profits from the music he made.
That allowed him to have enough resources to start additional endeavors, like his clothing line Rocawear, which he later sold for 207 million USD back in March 2007.
If you watched our previous videos from this series, you’ll see that ownership, or better said, equity, is something everyone mentions in one way or another.
The only way to get wealthy and make big jumps in quality of life is by owning things that increase in value over time.
Ownership is key. But what should you do if you don’t have the means to own big things?
5
If you can’t own the building, own the stock
Like Jay Z said in Pharrell Williams’ Entrepreneur: “If you can’t buy the building, at least stock the shelf, then keep on stackin’ ’til you stockin’ for yourself …”
In business, like everything in life, there are baby steps.
- If you can’t make big moves, make smaller ones that build something bigger.
- If you can’t buy the building, buy the apartment.
- If you can’t buy the company, buy the stock.
In other words, if you can’t buy the full amount, buy the percentage. There will always be a minimum you can do to put yourself on the right path.
And that minimum is what you need to start with if you are at the very beginning.
This lets you play the game. It makes you aware of what’s happening and how things work.
It brings you into the conversation, and you start understanding things better.
6
The importance of credit
You wanna know what’s more important than throwing away money at a strip club? Credit. That’s one of the lines from Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.”
Here’s the thing, you can buy a house with cash.
But you can buy the whole neighborhood with credit.
At the end of the day, this is all about understanding how to leverage financial tools. Rich people use banks to make money, while poor people use banks to lose money. This type of knowledge is what got Jay-Z rich in the first place.
However, financial education is at an all-time low and because of it, people always fall victim to the predatory behavior of this topic.
Just look at the YouTube comments. We bet most of the comments on these videos are from scammers trying to sell you on a get-rich-quick scheme with some obscure investor.
And do you know why scammers and bots are so rampant?
Because people don’t know any better.
They think financial education is for bankers and accountants.
7
Generational wealth
Some people think about money in terms of months, or how big their monthly paycheck is.
Others think in terms of years, or how long until they get promoted.
Others, in terms of decades, or how long until they can retire financially safely.
And then, there are others who think in terms of generations. Or how many generations after them will still live a comfortable life.
It’s a totally different level of thinking. And Jay Z is part of this mentality. Like he said multiple times, he can’t wait to leave this to his children. It’s all about legacy.
Taking the money means spreading it across families, making sure everyone is covered. And the money is used for good.
When you think in terms of generational wealth, you stop paying attention to the mundane things the average millionaire thinks are important. It’s all meaningless.
You only care about how your work benefits your people.
And that gives you a whole new level of energy.
We actually dedicated an entire video to generational wealth, which you can check out by clicking the link in the description.
8
What’s better than one billionaire? Two
In the race to become the first rap billionaire, Jay Z and P. Diddy were the front runners.
Only it was not much of a race since both are great friends and business partners.
As a matter of fact, P. Diddy mentioned that the only people he allows to call him by his birth name are his mother and Jay Z.
And like Jay Z said, “Over here we measure success by how many people successful next to you.”
The point he makes is that you can’t be successful if everyone around you is poor.
This isn’t about hanging out with other people, it’s about building something greater, together.
Nobody can do it alone, especially not jumping from one social circle to another, hoping that the environment alone will provide for them.
Find like-minded people, then elevate each other to new heights.
9
Stay close to what’s close to you
Jay Z got this rich because every business he ventured into was always closely related to something he was already involved with.
- Roc Nation was for his music.
- Rocawear was made after he saw people at a concert not wearing anything related to him.
- Tidal was made for the industry as a whole, with a big focus on giving more control and more revenue to the artists.
As for Armand de Brignac, the champagne bought in 2014, well, that’s an interesting story.
You see, back in the day, Cristal was the preferred champagne in rap videos.
That was until the manager of the company, said this, when asked what he thought about the champagne being featured in rap videos:
“What can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it.” which, as you imagined, didn’t sit well with Jay Z.
So he bought one of Cristal’s competitors and turned it into an empire.
And that’s how the new, famous Ace Of Spades came to be.
10
Don’t listen to anyone
We want to end this list with something that we consider extremely important and something you need to keep in mind when watching this type of content.
Jay Z said, “you can’t listen to anyone who told you what worked out for them, because it worked out for them, not you”.
As we said in the intro, there are a million ways to make a million dollars. Some work for you, some don’t.
Some circumstances are similar, while in other cases, you are polar opposites.
Are you going to build an empire out of the profits of your records like Jay-Z got rich? Probably not.
You must understand what applies to you and what doesn’t, and in the process, forge your own path.
This is also the reason why we think this series has great potential because after you see how hundreds of people did it, the vision for your own path starts to get a bit clearer.
And as a thank you for sticking with us until the end, we have a bonus for you.
Bonus
If you can’t buy it twice, you can’t afford it
This is one of our favorite Jay-Z quotes, and we’ve mentioned it a couple of times.
There’s a difference between what you can pay for and what you can actually afford.
And a good rule of thumb to figure out if you can actually afford something is if you can buy it twice, easily.
This concludes today’s lesson on how to get rich, the Jay-Z style. We hope you learned something important from this, and if you did, make sure to apply it ASAP. See you next time!
