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Why bother with a mortgage when you have billions of dollars? Why even fill out a loan application for that matter when you could simply pay cash for any home on the market?

Well, property records examined by The Daily Mail suggest that Jay-Z and Beyoncé took on not one, but two mortgages on their $88 million Bel-Air mansion.

The couple is worth roughly $3.3 billion together and secured a $57.75 million mortgage on the property this April. That’s in addition to the previous $52.8 million mortgage secured four years ago.

Are the music moguls now just broke billionaires, as some online commentators have speculated, or is this a savvy real estate move? Here’s a closer look.

I’ve got 99 problems, but a mortgage ain’t one

An outstanding liability of roughly $110.55 million on a single property likely sounds mind-boggling, though that figure is just 3.4% of the couple’s combined wealth.

And they have secured fairly attractive interest rates on both mortgages. According to The Daily Mail, the new mortgage from Morgan Stanley’s Private Bank Group had a 30-year term with an interest rate fixed at 5% for the next 10 years. The previous mortgage, meanwhile, was secured from Goldman Sachs at 3.15%. Effectively, the average rate on both mortgages is significantly below the August 2025 30-year mortgage rate of 6.6%, according to the Federal Reserve.

Even if the interest rates were closer to the average, these loans would have still unlocked some key financial benefits for the billionaire couple.

Buy, Borrow, Die

By borrowing money against an asset they can easily afford, Jay-Z and Beyoncé seem to be pulling from the “Buy, Borrow, Die” playbook. The strategy involves acquiring appreciating assets, such as real estate, stocks or artwork. Then they borrow against those assets to create tax-free cash flow, subsequently passing the assets to their heirs (Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir) to erase capital gains over the long term.

Beyond the tax advantages, this method also helps wealthy families minimize opportunity costs. By borrowing against their Bel-Air mansion, Jay-Z and Beyoncé can invest roughly $110 million in their various business ventures or even the S&P 500, which has delivered a compounded annual growth rate of 13.66% over the past ten years.

On their passing, the property portfolio’s tax basis would reset, potentially saving the three children millions of dollars in capital gains taxes. And you don’t have to be a billionaire to use leverage as a financial tool.

Can’t knock the hustle

Anyone, regardless of their net worth, can use debt in strategic ways to start building wealth.

The most important part of this strategy is to only borrow for appreciating assets. So, buying property with a mortgage or getting a business loan to start a new venture may help you build equity, while using an expensive personal loan or credit card debt to finance a vacation could destroy wealth over time.

If you’re borrowing money, shop around for the best rate and try to negotiate before signing up. Every basis point you can cut from the loan agreement can magnify your savings over the long term.

Mortgage Research Center (MRC) can help you quickly compare rates and estimated monthly payments from multiple vetted lenders at once. All you have to do is enter some basic information about yourself, such as your zip code, your desired property type, price range and annual income.

Based on the information you provide, MRC will show you mortgage offers tailored to your needs so you can shop for a mortgage with confidence.

After you match with a desired lender, you can set up a free, no-obligation consultation to see if you’ve found the right fit.

You may also want a hard cap on how much you can borrow, regardless of how low the interest rate is or how attractive the underlying asset seems. Zuckerberg, Jay-Z and Beyoncé have mortgages that are a small fraction of their net worth. Similarly, financial advisors suggest keeping your debt-to-income ratio below 41% to avoid risk.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s Bel-Air estate is the crown jewel in a reportedly $313-million real estate portfolio that features a palatial Hamptons home, a sprawling Malibu mansion and a chic New York Penthouse. Real estate is not their only interest. A museum-worthy art collection, stakes in luxury brands like D'USSÉ and Armand de Brignac, and a hit-studded music catalog all contribute to the power couple’s $3 billion net worth.

If, like Jay and Bey, you have a portfolio with a wide range of assets, ranging from stocks and bonds to tangible assets like real estate or classic cars, you need a streamlined way to keep track of your net worth — because the more insight you have, the more you can focus on growing your wealth.

With Kubera, high-net-worth individuals can get a comprehensive view of their net worth in real-time.

Unlike other wealth-tracking platforms, Kubera’s unified dashboard encompasses everything from real estate to shares in holding companies, crypto wallets, and private equity. With Kubera’s “Your Club” feature, you can also see how your portfolio stacks up compared to your peers in net worth.

The platform offers a unified dashboard that can connect thousands of banks, brokerages and crypto exchanges across multiple currencies, providing a complete picture of your financial position. Kubera features bank-level encryption and prioritizes user privacy, so you feel confident about integrating your accounts under one roof.

If you’re interested in seeing the difference Kubera can make for your finances, you can start now with a 14-day free trial.

Other ways to invest in real estate

You also don’t have to buy a property or get a mortgage to benefit from real estate’s potential for higher returns.

While the U.S. home equity market has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors, Homeshares now provides accredited investors access to the $34.9 trillion U.S. home equity market.

With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through Homeshares’ U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.

Homeshares offers risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 12% to 18%, and can be an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.

Beyond home equity, you can tap into commercial real estate with FNRP, which allows accredited individual investors with a minimum investment of $50,000 to access institutional-quality commercial investments — without the legwork of finding deals themselves.

FNRP has relationships with the nation’s largest essential-needs brands, such as Kroger, Walmart and Whole Foods. And since these retailers provide necessities, they tend to still perform well during times of economic volatility and can act as a hedge against inflation.

You can engage with experts, explore available deals and easily make an allocation, all in FNRP’s personalized portal. (YAHOO)