Billionaire Jay-Z explains why he refused to lend his cousin $4,800 and it's a key finance lesson

Fans were left disappointed to learn that billionaire rapper Jay-Z refused to lend his cousin $4,800. In an episode of "Hart to Heart," a celebrity talk show hosted by the comedian Kevin Hart, the rapper discussed how money can sometimes break relationships and come in between friends or family.

In the segment, he goes on to describe a scenario where someone is asked by a cousin for a loan of $4,800 to fund a business venture, adding that the person told him that he would be able to make $2 million in return.

"You gotta explain to him life isn't like that. Money isn't free. No one's giving out opportunities," he said in the video.

"And then he like, 'Oh, you don't believe in my dreams,'" at which point the YouTube clip from the episode ends," he added.

While it's not clear if Jay-Z was describing a hypothetical situation or a real one, the clip gained enough traction. One account posted the excerpt on X.com, along with the caption "I'll NEVER get over a billionaire saying some bullshit like this!" which went viral in no time.

The post currently has more than 35 million views, while another one on X that reads, "Jay Z has 2.5 billion dollars, his cousin asked for 4800 and he said no. To put that into perspective, that'd be the equivalent of someone who made 50,000 a year being asked to give a dime," also went viral.

The post triggered a debate in which people quickly chose sides. Some users expressed their shock while some defended him saying that one should never feel obligated to give his money away and that personal loans sometimes complicate relationships without any reason. Some also said how he didn't explicitly mention that he was didn't lend his cousin money. "Based on the clip, he didn’t outright say no. What he said makes sense. How are you going to make me $2 mil off $4800? You got make it make sense," writes one user, while another said , "it's crazy that you don't get that that was a hypothetical story."

Another user writes , "Jay is 100% correct. The guy could have asked for some work to earn the $4800 but of course he just wanted free money."

Other simply said how nobody should have any say on how a person should be spending their money. "I’ll never understand how people feel obligated to comment what other people should do with their money," read one tweet.

Since the resurface of the clip from 2022, the rapper has not provided any clarification on whether or not the situation he was describing was real or hypothetical.

According to Forbes, Jay-Z is worth $2.5 billion as of 2024. He was the first ever hip hop artist to hit the billion mark back in 2019. While most of his money is attributed to his music career he continued to make money through various business ventures, such as his acquisition of the music streaming platform Tidal and the success of Rocawear which is a clothing brand.