In 2013, Jay-Z invested about $2 million in Uber; 6 years later, his stake was estimated to be worth around $70 million

JAY-Z, Grammy award-winning rapper, has risen to prominence through his career in hip-hop music, but his fame grew further to include business, entertainment, and charity works. One such investment is his supposed ownership of a stake in Uber.

According to a Forbes report, Empire State of Mind rapper acquired a stake in Uber for $2 million in 2013. The stake was valued at approximately $70 million in 2019. The $70 million was an estimated value of the stake at the time, rather than money JAY-Z was reported to have made from selling it.

JAY-Z’s $2 million Uber investment

Forbes included the Uber stake among the $220 million it estimated JAY-Z held in cash and investments in 2019. The publication reported that he had reportedly purchased the Uber stake for $2 million in 2013 and estimated its value at $70 million six years later.

According to the report, JAY-Z later wired Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick another $5 million in an attempt to increase his holdings, but Kalanick rebuffed the offer.

The Uber stake was part of the portfolio Forbes considered when it estimated JAY-Z’s net worth at $1 billion in 2019. Forbes described him as the first hip-hop artist to reach billionaire status.

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From Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects to hip-hop

Born Shawn Carter on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, JAY-Z grew up in the Marcy Projects, he was raised mainly by his mother, Gloria Carter, who sometimes worked two jobs.

As a teenager, Carter sold crack cocaine and later reflected on that period of his life, as per a Britannica report. He began writing rhymes and was influenced by groups including Run-DMC.