Sean Carter said it best in “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” “I’m not a businessman, I’m a businessman.”
In a recent interview with comedian Kevin Hart on his Hart to Heart podcast, Jay Z broke down his mindset when it comes to ownership. During the conversation, Hov referenced the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, who went from owning 11 shares to one after he was pushed out of the company. Although some people viewed the move as “minimal,” compared to the company’s value, the one share is worth a lot.
Hov said, “We’ve been trained to look at the percentage of something you own … It ain’t what you own; you can own 100 percent of nothing.” Jay Z broke it down further and spoke on his partnership with French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, also known as Armand de Brignac champagne brand, or “Ace of Spades.”
The Brooklyn rapper has owned the champagne brand since 2014, and LVMH purchased a 50% stake in Jay Z’s portion last year. During the conversation with Kevin, HOV said,
“I owned a 100 percent. I could’ve said, ‘I want to own a 100 percent of this thing,’ or I could own 50 percent of it and … push it even further.”
In 2021, Forbes reported Armand de Brignac was valued at $630 million. The outlet says the “Empire State Of Mind” rapper ranked in at least $315 million from the deal. The report also said Ace of Spades “more than doubled before the sale.”
At the time, Jay Z told Yahoo! Finance, “We want the brand to outlast all of us… We don’t cut corners or lean on fame to sell the product,” he continued. “We’ve built it through passion and integrity.”
Jay Z explained to Kevin he’s creating generational weather through his business moves.
Check out the conversation: