Naturally, a capitalist society like ours tends to treat anyone in the billionaire bracket like royalty. And while there is certainly no shortage of celebrity couples to admire, praise and worship (or ignore, depending on your tastes), few command the same level of respect as The Carters. Consider their close friends and fellow paparazzi magnets, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, whose proximity to them highlights the differences between the two couples.

While Jay Z said on “Izzo,” “Show them how to move through a room full of vultures,” Kanye West, who produced the song, can barely contain himself when said creatures enter his view. And while Kim has taken the Paris Hilton “famous-for-being-famous” brand as her own, her accomplishments—whatever they may be—are nil in comparison to the abundant talents of Queen Bey.

Outstanding professional accomplishments allow both artists to stand on their own, with neither really “needing” the other, artistically or financially. Jay tails Beyoncé in earnings but is largely regarded in rap circles as one of the “top five, dead or alive,” an accolade that even a superstar like Will Smith lacks. This is an epithet that he has willed into existence since the inception of his career, once he declared himself “God emcee, me, Jay-Hova.” Beyoncé is of course the complete package: talent, beauty, style, grace, and unbridled, empowering sexuality. Like Diana Ross’s Mahogany before her, she is “the woman every woman wants to be, and every man wants to have.” But as Jay reminds us on “Public Service Announcement,” “I’ve got the hottest chick in the game, wearing my chain.” Sorry, fellas.

Jay and Bey is a combination created in the pop culture dream factory. Their audiences intersect, and their talents outshine their peers. They are very much music’s prom king and queen, the couple that everyone wanted to see ride off into the sunset together.

The mystique that the two carry also plays a huge role in their perceived value. Beyoncé rarely gives interviews with anyone less than Oprah, yet she doesn’t come off as a Streisand-level diva. And while Jay will talk to the press more often, he is reserved and soft-spoken, never revealing more than he has to. Meanwhile, Jay’s Watch The Throne collaborator, Kanye, is stopping his performances for lengthy diatribes about the ills of being rich and famous, while Kim and her family allow cameras in their home for endless, empty reality TV.