By Javian Baker, Ph.D. ·Updated April 2, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Lately, it feels like everyone has something to say about billionaires. And more often than not, those conversations end up circling the same question: are they inherently the problem?
This past week, GQ magazine featured an interview with the Hip-Hop mogul and billionaire Jay-Z. Much has been written about Jay-Z’s billionaire status over the years, and the conversation has rekindled after a recent Pew Research Center study reveals 1 in 3 young Americans view being a billionaire as “morally wrong.” But, we shouldn’t blame any one billionaire, when capitalism is the preferred economic system of America.
During the interview, Jay-Z made an interesting point, “the only thing I heard coming up was the American dream.” Many of us were encouraged to chase the American Dream. He goes on to say, it was not an issue “until we started being successful.” By we, he means African Americans. Jay-Z has a point. Can we judge anyone for being a billionaire when America is fueled by the myth that every American can get rich, buy a beautiful house, and live debt-free? After all, Jay-Z believes he is only benefiting from the art he created. How could anyone blame him?
Maybe Jay-Z has a point. I do not think we should blame him for simply being a billionaire. A better measure of blameworthiness is something he says at the end of his interview: “your morality defines who you are, right. Not what you’ve attained.” If we judge billionaires by their morality rather than the wealth they acquired, I think we get to the heart of the matter. We can’t assume all billionaires are bad people; we must observe how their morality shapes how they use their wealth.
Not all billionaires are made equal. We should give Jay-Z the benefit of the doubt. He defends his wealth by stating he did not take advantage of people to make money. But it’s not that simple. I don’t want to underestimate the importance of making money honestly, but when it comes to morality, we must ask deeper questions.
Morality is not just a question of right or wrong. Morality is also a question about how justice is distributed. The Civil Rights Movement taught us that we should question whether the politics of our society are just. Politics is not simply about who you vote for. It’s also about how much we pay for medical bills, education, and housing. We can’t be only concerned with making money. We must also be concerned with how our elders and children are treated in poor working-class communities. And those with wealth and influence have the means to contribute to political issues.
The thought that anyone can become wealthy with enough hard work is central to the American Dream. Jay-Z’s beginnings in the Marcy Projects did not stop him from dominating the music industry and capitalizing on everything from fashion, champagne, and film. Jay-Z has spoken about the need for racial justice, but his methods have yet to match the proposed solutions of organizations like the National Black Child Development Institute, the African American Policy Forum, the Children’s Defense Fund, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Policy. The Shawn Carter Foundation supports non-profits like the Reform Alliance, Keep A Child Alive, and the NAACP, which have done exceptional work. His philanthropy has made significant progress, but without a consistent eye towards racial injustice and how political programs like Project 2025 have impacted poor Black working-class communities, his philanthropy risks becoming disconnected from systemic racial injustice.
Under Trump’s second term, capitalism has not benefited African Americans. As of August 2025, Black unemployment rates have risen to 7.5%, while white unemployment has dropped to 3.7%. That’s about a 50% gap. The Trump-led pushback to DEI specifically targets diverse hiring practices and increases inequity in pay. The Republican-led assault on Immigration threatens Latinos and those from the African Diaspora, challenging the 1964 Civil Rights Act. There is also gerrymandering, like Trump calling Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 election. Not to mention the ban on books and Black-centered education.
At a time when antiblack racism is running rampant, and federal grants supporting the racial justice movement are terminated, the resources of the Black upperclass are essential. African Americans need bold action like the songwriter and actor Harry Belafonte. He left Black celebrities and business people a blueprint on how to support social movements. Belafonte gave millions to the Civil Rights Movement. He also leveraged his name to rally celebrities, organize fundraisers, and forge political connections. For Belafonte, philanthropy was not charity but a means toward systemic change. Imagine if Black billionaires like Jay-Z, LeBron James, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Michael Jordan, and Rihanna pooled some of their resources together and invested in the antithesis of Project 2025 and ensured the social movement for everyday working-class Black people is well-resourced and protected.
Black America cannot afford to be solely concerned with gaining wealth and denying the fight for racial justice. Black-led nonprofits, organizers, and professional organizations, including HBCUs, are under-resourced and could use support. African Americans need an effective economic system that does not place profits before people and a better political structure that makes a living wage possible and ensures that the health and well-being of everyday people are provided for and protected. I do not expect billionaires to radically change the world. However, they have resources that can be used toward a racial justice agenda that uplifts the concerns of the working class. We all have a role to play in our future and the future of the world.
Some important questions to ask billionaires, like Jay-Z, are what they think about supporting the fight for universal healthcare, affordable housing, equitable pay, and quality education. Many of us can agree that these are not just political issues but moral ones. These are issues facing all Americans, but disproportionately African Americans. The question becomes: How does our billionaire class contribute to ensuring these issues become a reality? How Jay-Z responds to these concerns is the greatest measure of his morality.
Javian Baker, Ph.D., is a scholar, writer, and advocate of marginalized communities and children. He writes on African-American religion, politics, and culture, and holds a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University. Dr. Baker is a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Children’s Development Institute.
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