Who’s Older and Who Has a Higher Net Worth: Jay-Z or Kanye West?
Kanye West‘s name has been in the headlines over the last several months for all the wrong reasons. That includes his Grammy Awards red carpet stunt with his wife, Bianca Censori, to making antisemitic comments to his marital troubles to burning bridges with people he used to be close with.
One person who felt West’s wrath was Jay-Z when the former attacked Hova’s kids in an unprovoked rant on X. West later apologized, but then took it back.
The two men used to be tight but have been at odds for years. Here’s a little more about their history, plus who’s older and who’s worth more these days.
Jay-Z’s age and net worth
Jay-Z was born in the Brooklyn section of New York City on Dec. 4, 1969.
He released his first album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. The album was a hit with critics and fans and was later certified platinum. The “Big Pimpin'” rapper continued to put out hit singles and has gone on to release a dozen more successful albums. For that, he’s in the conversation as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.
In 1994, he co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records along with Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke. Three years later, the trio sold half of Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam for a reported $1.5 million. Def Jam later acquired the other half for $10 million.
Jay is also a businessman with equity in SpaceX, Ethos, Uber, and Sweetgreen. Between his record sales, touring, merchandise, endorsements, and other investments, he has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
West’s age and net worth
West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977, making him seven and a half years younger than Jay-Z. When he was 3 years old, his parents divorced and West relocated to Chicago with his mother.
In the early 2000s, West was a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, turning out hits for Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Jay-Z as well. In 2001, West received praise for his work producing Hova’s The Blueprint album.
In 2004, West released his debut album “The College Dropout.” It was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful album that included his hit “Through the Wire.” West followed that up with several other innovative albums including Late Registration, Gradation, 808s & Heartbreak, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
In addition to his music, West made his mark on the world of fashion as well with his Yeezy clothing line, which he owns 100% outright, and partnerships with Adidas and Gap. As Celebrity Net Worth noted, “In March 2021, a UBS valuation estimated that Yeezy would add $3-4 billion to Kanye’s net worth bottom line. The same report estimated Kanye’s former deal with Gap previously added $1 billion to West’s net worth.”
The artist made it onto Forbes’ “Billionaire” list with an estimated net worth of $2 billion, and some publications claimed it was once as high as $6.6 billion. However, West’s racist comments and questionable behavior over the years led to several dropped deals, and today his net worth is estimated at $350 million.
