Jay-Z has settled a viral social media debate once and for all.
In an interview with CBS Mornings, the billionaire rapper gave an answer to the viral question that has bounced around the internet since 2021: Would you rather have $500,000 or lunch with Jay-Z?
"You gotta take the money," the Brooklyn-born artist told Gayle King. "What am I gonna say [at lunch]?"
Any advice he could give can just as easily be found in his music, said Jay-Z, whose net worth was recently estimated to be $2.5 billion. Taking a meal with him instead of half a million dollars would be a waste.
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"I wouldn't tell you to cut a bad deal," he said. "Take the $500,000, go buy some albums and listen to the albums. It's all there."
The 53-year-old recommended that fans "really listen to the music for the words."
"Everything I said was gonna happen, happened. Everything I said I wanted to do, I've done," he said. "The blueprint to me, to my life and my journey, is already there."
Money Report
Jay-Z himself isn't above taking a high-profile lunch meeting. In 2010, he sat down with legendary investor Warren Buffett to discuss his strategy of only investing in businesses he understands.
"Music is like stocks, there's the hot thing of the moment," the rapper said at the time. "People tend to make emotional decisions based on that. They don't stick with what they know."
Indeed, it's no wonder that people have debated the value of lunch with Jay-Z. Buffett himself said that the Roc Nation founder was a good source of money-making advice.
"Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I'll ever teach in," Buffett said in 2010. "For a young person growing up, he's the guy to learn from."
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