Dr. Dre Is the Top-Earning Musician of the Decade: Report
Dr. Dre is ending the decade on a really high note.
On Tuesday (Dec. 24), Forbes released a list of the top-earning musicians of the last 10 years, and the legendary producer-rapper is sitting comfortably at No. 1. Since 2010, Dre has reportedly earned a cool $950 million, putting him ahead of the likes of Taylor Swift (at No. 2 with $825 million), Beyoncé (who is No. 3 with $685 million) and more.
As one would suspect, the earnings weren't really from music—as Dre only released one album in that time frame (2015's Compton) and as Forbes noted, he hasn't produced on a No. 1 record since Eminem's "Crack a Bottle" in 2009. Instead, a majority of Dre's earnings came from his approximately 20% stake in Beats. The $3 billion Apple acquisition of the company in 2014 certainly didn't hurt his pockets either.
According to Forbes, they measured the income for folks on the list by "looking at touring data from Pollstar, music consumption numbers from Nielsen and interviews with managers, agents and many of the stars themselves." It is also to be noted that they do not deduct living expenses or taxes.
Dre wasn't the only hip-hop act in the top 10, though. Diddy and hip-hop's first billionaire, Jay-Z, sit comfortable at No. 5 with $605 million and No. 7 with $560 million, respectively. Of course, they're each worth way more than what they've earned in these last 10 years, thanks to investments, starting their own companies and of course, the music.
As we head into 2020, Dre will actually be seeing musical earnings once again, as he's reportedly working on Jesus Is King Part II with Kanye West. Both Dre and 'Ye made the announcement on social media back in November, and 'Ye later shared his excitement about the venture at one of his Sunday Service events earlier this month.
“I used to spend all my time trying to make my beats be mixed as good as Dr. Dre, who knew all I had to do was do an album for God and then Dr. Dre would start mixing my beats," Kanye told the crowd. "Spend your time on God and he will handle the rest."
You can view the full list of the top-earning musicians of the decade over at Forbes.
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