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Jay-Z walked away from Cristal
Jay-Z was the first person in hip hop to drink Cristal, back when nobody knew what it was. He talked about it in songs, and it became a popular drink in the community. Then the person who ran Cristal made disparaging remarks about hip hop people drinking it.
Insulted, Jay-Z stopped supporting the company and removed it from his clubs. He had been telling everyone it was the best, and now he crossed it off. He wasn't planning a business of his own and wasn't thinking about one at all.
Almost immediately, someone came to him about a brand they were thinking of starting. All they had was the bottle, and he loved its shape and the fact that it was gold. The brand was Ace of Spades, and it was worth 630 million dollars when Jay-Z sold his stake.
How did Ace of Spades change hands?
The brand launched in 2006 under the name Armand de Brignac, with the champagne made by the Cattier family house in France. Jay-Z took full ownership in 2014. In 2021, LVMH's Moët Hennessy acquired a 50 percent stake in the brand. Jay-Z remained a partner in it afterward.
Why do champagne houses compete on prestige?
Only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France under strict rules can carry the name, and the houses sell much of their value as status. Prestige bottlings such as Cristal, introduced by Louis Roederer in 1876, are priced far above standard bottles because the label and the story are part of what a buyer pays for. Hip hop artists began naming these bottles in songs in the 1990s, which turned the brands into cultural symbols. Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, and Cristal all appeared in rap lyrics through that decade.
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