Entertainment

Diddy Beats Dr. Dre & Jay Z to Emerge Highest Earning Hip-Hop Artists of the Year

Oh Snap! This is unbelievable. So Dre could not even claim the No. 1 spot despite the sale of Beats netting him $500 million.

Forbes just released its annual rankings of that Highest earning hip hop stars and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs landed the No. 1 spot showing he is still the master of his game.

Diddy has a combined net worth of $735 million, derived not just from his music career but his interest in a number of companies. He own a controlling stake in the clothing line Sean John, as well as the bottled water brand Aquahydrate.

Dr. Dre, aka Andre Young, came in second with a net worth of $700 million. While he is best known for his rap and producing career, the vast majority of Young’s fortune came from the sale of Beats Electronics to Apple in 2014. Dre was a 25 percent stake owner and netted $500 million.

Jay Z made the top three, with $550 million. He recently purchased and relaunched Tidal, a music streaming service, though the company has suffered several setbacks in recent weeks. However, he defended the service in a string of tweets, saying “The iTunes store wasn’t built in a day.”

50 Cent and Birdman rounded out the top five, with $155 and $150 million respectively. 50 Cent derived most of his wealth from the sale of Vitaminwater in 2007, while Birdman is still riding high on the success of his Cash Money Record label.

Here is the complete list at Forbes which estimates the Top 5 artists’ estimated worth:

1. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs – $735 million
2. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young – $700 million
3. Shawn “Jay Z” Carter – $550 million
4. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson – $155 million
5. Bryan “Birdman” Williams – $150 million

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Ihesiulo Grace

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