Jay-Z

Jay-Z sold CDs from his car in the early 1990s, cofounded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995, and landed a distribution deal with a major label to release his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. Two years later, he bought a beat that sampled “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from the musical Annie; the resulting hit led to album sales of more than five million copies. In 2008 the rapper, born Shawn Carter, married the singer Beyoncé Knowles. They have three children.