Dr Dre Surpasses Diddy To Become The Richest Star In Hip-Hop

September 24, 2014

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Dr. Dre has replaced Sean “Diddy” Combs at top spot in Forbes‘ new Cash Kings list of the highest paid acts in hip-hop. Dre’s rise from number two is largely due to the sale of Beats Electronic, a company he co-founded, which was sold to Apple earlier this year for over USD$3 billion.

After the sale of Beats, Dre claimed himself to be “the first billionaire in hip-hop”. Thanks to a nine-figure tax bill, Dre is only part of the way there, with 2014 pre-tax earnings of USD$620 million. Forbes have noted that this figure is the highest annual total of any entertainer they’ve ever evaluated, and is more than the combined earnings of the other 24 individuals on their 2014 list.

Diddy and Jay-Z are tied for number two with USD$60 million each, the former continuing to make money through alcohol and clothing endorsements whilst the latter grows his Roc Nation business. Canadian rapper Drake comes in fourth with USD$33 million, bringing in cash from four million sales of his latest album Nothing Was The Same, profits from an arena tour, and a Nike endorsement.

Seattle duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis close out the top five with a combined USD$32 million, tripling how much they made last year. Flick through the gallery and list below to see who else made this year’s list, and compare it to last year’s Forbes figures.

According to Forbes, the list is formed using “information on touring, record sales, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures”. Artist earnings have been calculated from June 2013 to June 2014, and are “based on data from Pollstar, the RIAA and Nielsen SoundScan, and from interviews with managers, lawyers, executives and some of the artists”.

Gallery: The 10 Richest Stars In Hip-Hop, 2014

and the rest…

11. Nicki Minaj ($14 million)
12. Wiz Khalifa ($13 million)
13. Pitbull ($12 million)
14. Snoop Dogg ($10 million)
15. Kendrick Lamar ($9 million)
16. (tie) Ludacris ($8 million)
16. (tie) Tech N9ne ($8 million)
16. (tie) Swizz Beatz ($8 million)
16. (tie) 50 Cent ($8 million)
20. (tie) Rick Ross ($7 million)
20. (tie) J. Cole ($7 million)
20. (tie) DJ Khaled ($7 million)
20. (tie) Lil Jon ($7 million)
20. (tie) Mac Miller ($7 million)