S. Samuel
Rap moguls Diddy, Jay-Z and Master P are reportedly sitting high above their peers according to Celebrity Net Worth's new "20 Richest Rappers Alive Today" list.
Interscope Records hip-hop stars Dr. Dre and 50 Cent help round out the Top 5.
#20 Rick Ross – Net Worth $25 Million #19 Tie between T-Pain and T.I – Net Worth $30 Million #18 Nelly – Net Worth $55 Million #17 Busta Rhymes – Net Worth $60 Million #16 Ludacris – Net Worth $65 Million #15 Beastie Boys – Net Worth $75 Million Each #14 Timbaland – Net Worth $75 Million #13 Pharrell Williams – Net Worth $77.5 Million #12 Tie between LL Cool J and Akon – Net Worth $80 Million #11 Kanye West – Net Worth $90 Million #10 Lil Wayne – Net Worth $95 Million #9 Ice Cube – Net Worth $100 Million #8 Snoop Dogg – Net Worth $110 Million #7 Birdman – Net Worth $115 Million #6 Eminem – Net Worth $120 Million #5 50 Cent – Net Worth $250 Million #4 Dr. Dre – Net Worth $260 Million #3 Master P – Net Worth $350 Million #2 Jay-Z – Net Worth $475 Million #1 Diddy – Net Worth $500 Million (Celebrity Net Worth)
Celebrity Net Worth specifically points out a mass majority of the listed artists have invested in additional business ventures outside of their music careers.
We started off with more than 50 artists in the hip hop industry, then narrowed the list down to the top 20 richest rappers alive today. The moguls on this list control over $3 billion. The vast majority of the people on this list are African-American which unfortunately is rare for a list on Celebrity Net Worth. One common theme among these richest rappers is that they all have leveraged their popularity to launch new business ventures. Many of these artists made far more money outside of hip hop than they ever did selling records. There are actually 22 artists on this list thanks to a handful of ties, we also included three bonus celebrities who are not rappers but have had a major influence on the genre. The secret to being one of the richest rappers seems to be in clothing lines, owning your own record label and investing in commercial products you sell to the mass public. (Celebrity Net Worth)
Recently, Young Money leader Lil Wayne landed a spot on Forbes‘ “Highest-Paid Celebrites Under 30” list.
Justin Bieber is the only man in the Top 5, and also the youngest of the group. Fitting comfortably between Taylor Swift ($57 million) and Rihanna ($53 million) with $55 million in his bank account, The Bieb earns a little more than double Lil Wayne (whose laughable $27 million income puts him barely ahead of male Twilight co-stars Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, who are each estimated to be worth $27.5 million). (Pop Dust)
In summer 2011, Jay-Z and Diddy paved the way on Forbes‘ “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” list.
Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter) leads all comers once again with $37 million in earnings since last August. A majority of the dough is proceeds from his Blueprint 3 tour. Nipping at his heels, however, is fellow mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who raked in a neat $35 million from his Bad Boy record label, his Sean John clothing line and his lucrative Ciroc vodka deal. Kanye West may have landed at No. 3, but he’s a ways down there at “only” $16 million. The rest of the top 10 had similar years, revenue-wise, with Cash Money honcho Bryan “Birdman” Williams tying Lil Wayne for the next two spots with $15 million, showing that tha Carter isn’t doing too bad, either. (E! Online)
Check out the Forbes 2012 “Top 5 Wealthiest Rappers List” below:
