In response to the age-old question, “$500,000 or dinner with Jay-Z,” we’re here to save you some money.
The man born Shawn Carter probably won’t be sitting down for dinner anytime soon with any of you, but he’s definitely laid out his business moves in black and white for your edification. You might even say he left people “The Blueprint” to his success.
Back in 2010, Warren Buffett sat down with a young Jay-Z and walked away impressed with the up-and-comer’s commitment to success.
“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,” said the billionaire to Forbes Magazine.
Buffett’s predictions proved correct. Today, Hova is one of the few Hip-Hop billionaires on the planet today, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. Even in years that he doesn’t release music or go on tour, Jay-Z is good for about $500 million a year, by one estimate. And this is to say nothing of how his marriage to fellow icon Beyoncé has also increased his net worth.
In short, when it comes to money moves, S-Dot-Carter is second-to-none.
But more than investing in businesses, Jay-Z has also invested in Black-owned businesses. Crunchbase reports that Marcy Venture Partners, which was founded in 2019, is a venture capital firm that has invested in 24 companies — 11 of which are considered “diversity investments.” “Diversity investments” include companies that are woman-owned, companies that are LatinX-owned, and companies that are Black-owned.
Marcy Venture Partners’ last investment was in September 2021, when they invested in the Series A round for MERIT Beauty. In the past, they’ve invested in companies like Wyze, Savage X Fenty, and Misha’s Kind Beauty. The fund has raised more than $97 million across two funds.
Hova has also invested in Black-owned businesses through Roc Nation, which has morphed from a record & entertainment label into a full-service sports management, entertainment management, and investment firm.
Here, we decided to take a look at the Black-owned companies that Jay-Z has invested in through the years.
Savage X Fenty
The most famous Black-owned business that Hova invested in was Savage X Fenty. Its first investment into the brand was in August 2019, when it invested into its Series A round of funding. Marcy was the lead investor in the Series A round, and Larry Marcus of Marcy Ventures would invest in the company again in its Series B funding. Overall, Savage X Fenty raised $185 million over three funding rounds.
Perch Credit
AfroTech was one of the few outlets that were watching Jay-Z’s investment in Perch Credit in real-time. Back in January 2021, we told you that the app raised $2.5 million in its seed round. Marcy Venture Partners was one of the investors in its seed round, but it was also involved in the app’s pre-seed round as the Y combinator, and provided a convertible note to the company back in 2019. Overall, Perch has raised $2.6 million in funding over three rounds.
Partake Foods
Partake Foods is a company that specializes in selling allergy-friendly cookies. Headquartered in Jersey City, NJ, Partake has received $6.9 million in funding over three rounds. Marcy Venture Partners was the lead investor in the company’s seed round and funded the company again in its Series A round.
Promise
Promise is a payment processing platform that received funding from Roc Nation back in its seed funding round. Overall, Promise has raised $23.1 million over three rounds.
Scratch
Through Arrive — Roc Nation’s venture arm — Scratch, a loan-servicing company that offers alternative means of paying them back, got a convertible note. Overall, Scratch has raised $17.3 million over four funding rounds.
