Jay Z’s 15 Best Business Hustles

The partnership between Budweiser and Jay Z has been a fruitful one. Anheuser-Busch hired Jay Z as its new co-brand director for Budweiser Select in 2006, Jay co-starred in a Bud commercial with NFL legend Don Shula aired during the 2007 Super Bowl and he curates the Budweiser Made In America festival.

Before linking with Budweiser, Jay Z and Heineken entered a brief partnership in 2003 that saw Jay and Pharrell Williams’ “Excuse Me Miss” serving as backing music. Jay got extra points for the Roc-a-wear cross promotion.

D’usse brand Cognac passes the smell test of Jay Z endorsements. He’s shouted it out on Beyonce’s “Drunk In Love,” drank it from his 2013 Grammy award, and had Lil Wayne shout it out as well.

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In 2007, Jay Z sold high on the Rocawear clothing line by selling the rights of the line he co-founded for $204 million to the Iconix Brand Group while maintaining his role as Head of Product Development, Marketing and Licensing. According to co-founder Damon Dash, he was bought out by Jay for $30 million.

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In one swift movement in 2004, Jay Z, Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke sold their remaining 50% stake in Rocafella Records to Def Jam for $10 million. As part of the deal, Jay became the president of Def Jam, retained his master recordings, and reportedly netted a salary of Def Jam of no less than eight figures.

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In 2003, Jay Z joined a group headed by developer Bruce Ratner in efforts to buy the franchise that was then named the New Jersey Nets. Jay ended up owning one-fifteenth of one percent of the franchise as well as a stake in the Barclay’s center before selling both entities a decade later presumably after they appreciated in value.

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Roc Nation was cemented by a $150 million dollar deal between Jay Z and Live Nation in 2008 that included a $25 million upfront payment and $10 million per album for a minimum of three albums over the next 10 years.

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Despite some initial condescending remarks from rival agents, Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports made a splash in April 2013 by signing outfielder Robinson Cano to a $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners. Additional deals with Dez Bryan and Kevin Durant have the Jay Z/CAA partnership looking better by the day.

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Business Insider estimated Jay Z pocketed no less than $20 million for licensing the rights to one million copies of his 2013 Magna Carta Holy Grail album to Samsung for $5 a pop.

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One can assume 40/40 Club locations will be peppered throughout the country after Jay Z Juan and Desiree Perez signed a 2010 deal with Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services to bring the club to as many as 20 major US airports.

The exact figures on Jay Z’s 2006 endorsement deal with computing giant Hewlett Packard aren’t available, but given that his spot aired along with similar ads featuring Mark Cuban and Shaun White, it was likely for a generous fee.

In previous years, 2K Sports had trouble securing the likenesses of Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley as well as licensing music from heavyweights like U2. When the company made Jay Z the executive producer of NBA 2K13, the above problems and more were solved with one phone call each. Trust Mr. Carter’s services didn’t come free.

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Published reports estimate Jay Z and Reebok’s “S. Carter Collection” sold over 10,000 pairs within hours. If you take 50 Cent at his word of making $80 million from a similar deal with Reebok, Jay might have made between $8 and $10 million for his Rbk line in 2004.

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Partnering with music mogul turned ad exec Steve Stoute at Translation Advertising may have been Jay Z’s ultimate upgrade. Jay joined the company in 2008 in the role of co-chairman. They’ve since snagged big accounts like Budweiser, and you can pretty much connect the dots between what Translation backs and what Jay endorses.

After what he interpreted as disparaging remarks from Louis Roederer managing director Frederic Rouzaud, Jay Z started an unofficial boycott of Cristal champagne and bought a financial interest in Armand de Brignac champagne. Forbes estimated Jay’s initial stake at $50 million. In October of 2014, Sovereign Brands announced they sold their stake to Jay Z, presumably making him the majority owner of the popular champagne.