Grammy-winning artist Jay-Z has finally responded to the age-old social media question: Would you rather have $500,000 or lunch with Jay-Z?
Since at least 2017, different versions of the “lunch with Jay-Z or $500K” meme have gone viral on social media. He told CBS Mornings, “You’ve gotta take the money.”
His response astonished the interviewer, Gayle King, who pointed out that people would pay to have lunch with him in order to gain the wisdom that made him a billionaire. The “Forever Young” singer remarked that there is a simpler way to learn from him: buy his albums.
“You’ve got all that in the music for $10.99. That’s a bad deal. I wouldn’t tell you to cut a bad deal,” he insisted.
He continued, “It’s all there. If you piece it together and listen to the music for the words, well, what it is, it’s all there. Everything that I said was going to happen happened. Everything I said I wanted to do, I’ve done.”
Billboard disclosed that an exclusive tour of the Brooklyn Public Library’s “Book of HOV” exhibit will be included in Jay-Z’s upcoming two-part interview with King. The exhibit is a vast archival undertaking that chronicles the vast expanse of his career, from his lengthy catalog of Grammy awards to his historic business deals in sports, music, alcohol, film, and public service.
According to the BBC, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, had an amazing climb from peddling drugs on the street at the age of 13 to selling over 140 million records. He then expanded his success into a large business empire that included assets in record labels, sports teams, clothing brands, and alcohol. It’s turned him into a billionaire.
Forbes estimates that he is currently worth $2.5 billion.
