How Jay-Z Turns Everything He Touches Into Gold

Def Jam Recordings, Rocawear clothing, Club 40/40, a New Jersey Nets basketball game, lunch with Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow at The Spotted Pig, a concert produced by Roc Nation, and an interview with Oprah Winfrey all have one thing in common: Shawn Corey Carter, also known as Jay-Z.

At some point during your day, whether you realize it or not, you encounter, hear or touch something that is a part of the vast empire that Jay-Z has built by being both a shrewd businessman and a revered rapper.