How is Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy worth US$500 million already? Royalties – she rapped on dad’s 4:44 album and dueted with mum on Disney’s The Lion King soundtrack
- Her power couple parents started clocking Blue Ivy performance credits from the age of four – from the rap Blue’s Freestyle to narrating audiobook Hair Love – and the royalties are already rolling in
- You don’t need to be famous to follow their example – financial planners advise investing early for your kids, with Albert Einstein calling compounding ‘the eighth wonder of the world’
From the lyrics of Jay-Z’s hit song The Story of OJ, one can already surmise he knew how the wealth game is played:
I bought some artwork for one million.
Two years later, that s*** worth two million
Few years later, that s*** worth eight million
I can’t wait to give this s*** to my children
The self-made billionaire needs no introduction. Jay-Z’s current portfolio includes investments in Uber and Space-X, and he recently sold his champagne label Armand de Brignac to LVMH for roughly US$630 million.
Even the star’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is worth US$500 million – but that is not the genius part. Anybody with assets can assign wealth to their children early. Jay-Z and wife Beyonce’s mastery is in creating wealth for their daughter without giving her a cent.
The key is the creative power-couple crediting Blue Ivy’s input in their music. At just four years old, Blue Ivy appeared on Jay-Z’s “4:44” album, where she showcased her rap prowess by delivering the impressive Blue’s Freestyle, which her father loved so much that he commissioned an animated music video for it.
Transitioning from the influence of one superstar parent to another, Blue Ivy also showed her vocal talents by narrating the audiobook version of Hair Love, and by partnering with her mum to create Brown Skin Girl, a song on the 2019 soundtrack album to Disney’s live-action, The Lion King: The Gift, which won numerous accolades.
Having songwriting and production credits is no small feat, as royalties are paid for them into perpetuity. Think of daughter Frances Bean Cobain and wife Courtney Love inheriting Kurt Cobain’s share of Nirvana’s royalties.
Every time Blue Ivy’s songs are streamed on Spotify, bought off iTunes and used commercially, a small part of that play builds in her piggy bank. Most importantly, Blue Ivy’s royalty income starts before she is even 10.