Dr. Dre Tops Forbes’ ‘Hip-Hop Cash Kings’ List
Veteran hip-hop producer Dr. Dre is the new king on the throne of Forbes’ Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. Despite not dropping a full-length album, the good doctor was able to make his money selling his ubiquitous headphones.
According to the financial magazine, Dr. Dre earned an impressive $110 million thanks to his profitable sale of his Beats by Dre headphones to electronics company HTC. Rap mogul Diddy finished at No. 2 with $45 million mostly from the profits of his Ciroc vodka and Sean Jean clothing line.
Jay-Z, who was No. 1 on the list in 2011, came in at No. 3 with $38 million. Hov earned most of his money through his partnerships with the Brooklyn Nets, his advertising firm Translation and cosmetic company Carol’s Daughter. Jay-Z’s ‘Watch the Throne’ partner Kanye West followed at No. 4 with $35 million from his touring revenue and sales of the ‘Throne’ album. Rounding out the top 5 is Lil Wayne with a net worth of $27 million thanks to his Mountain Dew endorsement deal, the launch of his clothing line Trukfit, and album sales of ‘Tha Carter IV.’
Speaking of Weezy, his Young Money labelmates Drake and Nicki Minaj finished at No. 6 and No. 8, respectively on the tally. Drizzy netted $20.5 million, while Minaj pulled in $15.5 million. Their boss, Cash Money co-founder Birdman (aka Bryan Williams), placed seventh with $20 million earned within the past year.
Elsewhere, Maybach Music Group artist Wale was crowned “Cash Prince” by Forbes for pocketing nearly $5 million, just $1 million short of making this year’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. “I don’t want to be one of those guys that you see who made $4 million, invested $3.5 million, and now you work at Wendy’s,” the D.C. native told the magazine. “I want to get the highest score on Pacman or Frogger… [and] I want to make sure I’m on the Forbes list in a year or two.”
Cash Kings 2012: Hip-Hop’s Top 20 Earners
1. Dr. Dre: $110 million
2. Diddy: $45 million
3. Jay-Z: $38 million
4. Kanye West: $35 milliom
5. Lil Wayne: $27 million
6 Drake: $20.5 milliom
7. Birdman: $20 million
8. Nicki Mianj: $15.5 million
9. Eminem: $15 million
10. Ludacris: $12 million
11. Pitbull: $9.5 million
12. Rick Ross: $9 million (tie)
13. Wiz Khalifa: $9 million (tie)
14. Snoop Dogg: $8 million
15. 50 Cent: $7.5 million
16. Swizz Beatz: $7 million (tie)
17. Pharrell Williams: $7 million (tie)
18. Young Jeezy: $7 million (tie)
19. Mac Miller: $6.5 million (tie)
20. Akon: $6 million (tie)
Watch Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings 2012: Inside the List