Dr. Dre, Diddy and Jay-Z have been announced as the top three artists on Forbes’ Cash Kings 2012 list.
Dre holds the top spot on this year’s list with $110 million in pretax earnings thanks to the lucrative sale of his Beats By Dr. Dre headphones to handset maker HTC, which paid $300 million for a 51 percent stake in the company last year.
Diddy scores second place with $45 million in earnings due to profits from Diageo’s Ciroc vodka, while Jay-Z ranks at number three with $38 million thanks to investments in Carol’s Daughter and the Brooklyn Nets.
Kanye West places at number four with $35 million, while Lil Wayne lodges at number five with $27 million. Drake and Nicki Minaj place at number six and eight with $20.5 million and $15.5 million, respectively.
Check out the full list below (via HHNM).
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 millionv10. 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: $7 million (tie)
18. Young Jeezy: $7 million (tie)
19. Mac Miller: $6.5 million (tie)
20. Akon, Timbaland & Tech N9ne (tie): $6 million (tie)
RELATED: Forbes Names Wale A “Cash Prince”
If only money earned meant good music was made…it’s usually the other way around.
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True!
lol at 50 Cent. wasted
7.5 million is a lot but dam 50, pitbull passed you lmao!!!! 50 falling off, he gonna be the next Master P.
UMMM master p? what a bad example. his success is ridic.
lmao 50’s hurtin in rickys shadow right now.
Dr.dre shit it on them this year…what happenned to 50 now he’s making pocket change i don’t know…who’ll reach a billion first?,i’ll put my money on diddy though jayz and dre are clearly the leading underdogs.
Pocket change? loL
Baby money! your all mouth you cunt! call jigga out now!
ALL BIRDMAN HAD TO DO IS SIT BACK AND COLLECT NIGGA
Jay got Baby Money, and more money than Baby!
IT’S THE ROC!
Mac Miller $6.5 million?!?!? WTF?? From what?
yeah there no way i can believe that,
but he does have 2 10 million dollar lawsuits against him for stealing other peoples work so u never know
dude is on a indie label…
YMCMB HAD A CRAZY YEAR THE TEAM GOT SPOTS 5-8 IF THEY COUNTED SLIM THE TEAM WOULD HAVE ANOTHER SPOT. NEXT YEAR TYGA WILL BE ON THE LIST AS WELL
Damn shady and interscope had a crazy year, they take the top spot 9 and 15. Dre killing it by 55 mill and morreee
The Good Doctor got Baby Money, and more money than Baby himself.. Fuck Beatrice
DRE JUST SIGNED WAYNE TO BEATS BY DRE YMCMB SALUTES. TIGER PRINT BEATS BY DRE HEAD PHONES COMING TO S STORE NEAR YOU
DAMN MAC MILLER REALLY GETTING THAT TOUR AND ALBUM MONEY
HAHAHAHA!!! You fucking retards dissin’ fifty. That dude made 7,5M and didn’t even have a record this year.. oh wait he did, but he has so much money that he gave it for free for the fans. And i’m not even a fan of 50 (i think he has a good ear for beats. and that’s it) But u guys are bunch of fags “lmao 50’s hurtin in rickys shadow right now.” “lol at 50 Cent. wasted” Really? He made 7,5M by doing…. what? I don’t even know. U clearly know nothing about the value of money. Man even i made 30 000+ and i bet it as much as your parents are making together.
why so butthurt?
Thats what i thought too man…. these bitches dont know whats the rezl cost of the money…
once again ross overwhelms 50. ETHER
Yung Mula Babeyyyyy!
List says it all
YMCMB MMG
AFTERMATH ROC G.O.O.D
where is ryan leslie? that nigga always talking down to everybody about how much money he makes where he at
Well if you made less than $6million in a year you still making serious money.
Dre got more stacks than YMCMB combined BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! LMMAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ROFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
everybody gettn on 50 for earning $7 mill, but this man still made the top 20 by not even dropping an album or having any of his artist drop an album..plus half of the money he gets from his Street King Energy goes to Africa
RIGHT ITS NOT LIKE 50 AINT MAKE 100 MIL IN A YEAR BEFORE A OT OF DUMB NIGGAS
Are they really having this money CASH?
WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU HAVE THAT IN CASH?
50 dont even gotta try to make 7 million while rick ross hustled his ass off and had 2 seizures
It’s funny how n*ggas talk that sh*t about Rozay rapping like he don’t have mad bars over 50, so now we wanna discred his hustle to make what he made and then say 50 got more money….so what! To say the man had 2 seizures and still made money should be something to acknowledge…who cares who got more money then the next rapper!
“It’s funny how n*ggas talk that sh*t about Rozay rapping like he don’t have mad bars over 50”
No, it’s funny that he was a C.O. an ACTUAL C.O.! Now that shit’s funny!
whats funny about being a CO…. how you think you get drugs and cell phones in to Jail???
whats funnier is people thinking they favourite rappers did have day jobs…. saying that we know 50 is “real”… but his music is weeeaak… that REAL FUNNY
No wonder DETOX aint coming…Too busy with those gay ass headphones
where is the Game???? Waka ??? Guci??? MMG ?? if your boss is making 7m and scream that he is the Boss then something is wrong in this business !!!!!Nicki and Drake are eating the boss (2 times) ???????@50 cent “dam homi in 2003 u were the man homi WTF happen to u” hahahaha
don’t be stupid, Fif hasn’t had an album in years, no tours yet he made 7mil, how many rappers can do dat? Fif is still the boss
Nah 50 is good, no album no touring & he still made 7 mill niggas need to stop sleeping,next year he might sell SK for a couple hundred mill i wouldn’t count him out just yet, it’s always when niggas think he’s done that he wins big, also lets remember most of these numbers are estimates based on tours, record sales & other shit that’s public knowledge, so they aren’t really facts. Take Swizz beats, all that work he did for Reebok, Christian Loubotin, Lotus, Aston martin, not to mention royalties from his extensive back catalogue & these people are trying to tell me he only made 7 million ? nah i’m not buying it
wait until next 50 and floyd are gonna kill the game with boxing just wait watch all ya hater is gonna hate when he drop his album all that money is gonna pilled up sk boxing sms thisis50 this nigga got bussines for day hahahahahahahaha
Lil Wayne and his mentor have a combined Net Worth of $185 million and they always brag about the money they getting. Eminem and his mentor Net Worth of $380 million.
The 2 main artists Lil Wayne has mentored total Net Worth of $28 million, The 1 main artist Eminem mentored total Net Worth of $110 million.
The ONLY reason I put this really worthless comment is because I really don’t like Birdman…
Birdman and wayne are worth way more than that but who gives a fuck? You nor me ain’t seeing any of that green face so you a fag for that.
Look up how much Birdman & Wayne are worth then, let’s see who’s right.
EM aint got no 360 million – try 40/50 million – the nigga been getting raped on Interscope his whole career…. LOL
“Ludacris is also one of hip-hops most consistent earners. Since his 2000 major label debut, every one of his seven studio albums has sold at least 500,000 copies. Hes made the Cash Kings list in each of its six years, racking up $80 million over that periodmore than T.I. or Eminem. And hes showing no signs of slowing down.”
EM aint make shit/
Yall buying into this fucking guessing. LMAO.
1. Andre Dr. Dre Young ($110 million)
2. Sean Diddy Combs ($45 million)
3. Shawn Jay-Z Carter ($38 million)
4. Kanye West ($35 million)
5. Dwayne Lil Wayne Carter ($27 million)
6. Aubrey Drake Graham ($20.5 million)
7. Bryan Birdman Williams ($20 million)
8. Nicki Minaj ($15.5 million)
9. Marshall Eminem Mathers ($15 million)
10. Christopher Ludacris Bridges ($12 million)
11. Pitbull ($9.5 million0
12. Rick Ross ($9 million, tie)
13. Wiz Khalifa ($9 million, tie)
14. Snoop Lion ($8.5 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)
20. Akon, Timbaland, Aaron Tech N9ne Yates
Honorable Mentions: Wale, J.Cole ($5 million) KiD CuDi, Tyga, Lupe Fiasco.
damn I don’t know these kids are so stupid, Fif hasn’t had an album in years, no tours yet he made 7 mil, how many rappers can do dat? Fif is still the boss, he made 7mill wit no album out, while ur fav rappers are tryna hustle hard nad all Fif do is sit aand watch then he makes 7mil
get off 50’s nuts. maybe i missed them, but i dont think dr dre, jay z, diddy, eminem, or birdman dropped an album last year and they all made way more than 50. dre made nearly 15 times more than 50.
dre made 110 million with no album out since 99.
Jay-Z dropped Watch The Throne… Then went on tour which included him & Ye getting $6M for 1 party in Qatar.
50 has street kings and movie money –
the top 5 on the least made less than 5% o their money of music… aint nobody buying music son
50 didn’t even break a sweat and made 7.5 mil chillin.
I agree with the smart ones on here. 50 killed it doing literally nothing over the last year, except the occasional b-movie. His last studio album dropped in 09′. Amazing!
50’s movie game is pretty smart….
– they cost less than 2million (10 movies for 20million through Cheetah Visions) and make 3million on average through dvd and limited theatre rights….
damn.. these are pre-tax earnings… The government is the biggest hustler
Money for roads, subway systems, buildings, bridges etc need to come from somewhere. Our money basically goes around in a loop.
Why people keep calling Akon a rapper???
Didn’t say anything about rappers… And Akon is more Hip Hop than R&B well now he’s more Pop but back when he released Trouble & Konvicted they were definitely more Hip Hop than R&B.
AKON is hiphop – hiphop is a culture….
That’s like saying Mary J isn’t hiphop – do you’re history on the culture,,
Dr.Dre beat Diddy wtf! How can this be? I thought Diddy was on his way to being the first black billionaire to make it from the rap industry.
It’s just 1 year and Dre made this much money because he sold shares in his company meaning he won’t be making this kind of money next year most of Diddy’s money has came from Ciroc.
wrong. Dre owns most of the shares from his company, that’s what he paid $300mil for…
No “phil” look it up… Here I’ll help http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoYRRGsJtck&feature=g-hist
Dr Dre came outta nowhere man. Smart business man
Nas will be on next year for all the great work he did this year
When was the last time Nas “the Don” made the Forbes list?
@wreiad I don’t know… When will you ever.
lol. nas took another l.
HOW IS LUDACRIS ON THIS LIST? WHAT DID HE DO LAST YEAR?
AND THAT NIGGA FLO-RIDA MUST BE GETTING PIMPED BIG TIME, IF HE GOT ALL THEM HITS AND NOT MAKING MILLZ
Keep in mind the singles are only $1.29 on iTunes and Flo Rida does NOT sell albums so..
keep in mind this US income.
Florida makes most of is money outside the US –
Ludacris is also one of hip-hops most consistent earners. Since his 2000 major label debut, every one of his seven studio albums has sold at least 500,000 copies. Hes made the Cash Kings list in each of its six years, racking up $80 million over that periodmore than T.I. or Eminem. And hes showing no signs of slowing down.
THANKS. ARE YOU ZACK O’MALLEY GREENBURG???
1. Dr. Dre: 47 years old
2. Diddy: 42 years old
3. Jay-Z: 42 years old
4. Kanye West: 35 years old
5. Lil Wayne: 29 years old
6 Drake: 25 years old
7. Birdman: 43 years old
8. Nicki Mianj: 29 years old
9. Eminem: 41 years old
10. Ludacris: 34 years old
1. Dr. Dre: 47 years old
2. Diddy: 42 years old
3. Jay-Z: 42 years old
4. Kanye West: 35 years old
5. Lil Wayne: 29 years old
6 Drake: 25 years old
7. Birdman: 43 years old
8. Nicki Mianj: 29 years old
***9. Eminem: 39 years old***
10. Ludacris: 34 years old
DAMN, THE YOUNG CANADIAN BOY IS AHEAD OF HIS PEERS BY A LONG SHOT.
my manhood is shaped like a curved spine, i’ll make 100 million off sellin styrfoam cups if i play my cards rite, i have no interest in sea weed, but i do register for online dating sites when my mother isnt home, i love kiwi and i ride my bike to the dollar store, holla at hoes on the way too
lmao where is Nas? Oh yeah, running from the IRS.
Since when do druglords only make 9 mill in a year? lol
Right, cause they would be declaring those earnings to Forbes….lmao.
Mac Miller now has enough to pay those lawsuits.
“IF HE GOT ALL THEM HITS AND NOT MAKING MILLZ”
I heard he just applied to be a C/O
jeezy aint get no 7 mil……
that is the total proceeds from touring – he’s signed to a 360 so he actually got… 0
www
forbes
com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2012/09/05/ludacris-dreams-a-rap-mogul-diversifies-his-empire/
Ludacris is also one of hip-hops most consistent earners. Since his 2000 major label debut, every one of his seven studio albums has sold at least 500,000 copies. Hes made the Cash Kings list in each of its six years, racking up $80 million over that periodmore than T.I. or Eminem. And hes showing no signs of slowing down.
Now quit pasting this bunk comment and get of hit nutz.
“AKON is hiphop – hiphop is a culture”
Then by your definition Drake is hip hop as well.
Of course Drake his Hip Hop..He’s just his own brand of Hip hop
Nah dude is right Akon is R&B not Hip-Hop and Drake isn’t Hip Hop either so quit faking
Of course Drake is Hip Hop for people who say he isn’t are just hating or are stupid and ignorant.
drake makes love songs i hardly call that hip hop
Ludacris is slowing down, and isn’t selling millions like Em still is able to. That said, Luda did a smart thing. He jumped over to movies.
keep da updates flowing.
in this business u need to make music or get out da game.and watch as the world simply forgets about u.
Eminem 15 milli $ without album or business
how if eminem has business like clothes line beats movies !!!!
^^^^ Eminem nut hugger
LOL POOR FIF, I GUESS YOU WONT BE SEEING THIS ARTICLE ON THISIS50. ALL THAT BEEFIN AND YOU ARE NOW BENEATH THE C/O…WOW! LOL LET ME GUESS, WE’LL BE SEEING TWO OR THREE MORE OF THOSE HORRIBLE(d rated)MOVIES PER YEAR. ROFL
That’s yokel mentality.
LMAO still he had no album and still made the list ? what a dumb comment, dude gets it in lMAO..so does pharell
bro 50 did 400 mil, those other dudes will need to be in that list for the next 20 years to achieve that
don’t hate nigga, it’s bad for your health
What did Ludacris do?? Nigga basically got 12 million for nothing lol
Do you even know how irrelevant your comment is?
Watch the video and tell me why did Dre throw a load of blue paint into somebody’s face for no apparent reason… Shit if that’s how you make $110 million a year I’m seriously considering that as a career path.
no throwing paint isn’t how you earn that much that is just an advert probably advertising new colours for beats
Niggas still buying into this bullshit guess lists?
damn, Tech Nine is that paid????
Why don’t he sign his fellow underground mcess…your Chino XL, Immortal Technique, Ras kass, killah Priest, Canibus
Yeah i was suprised but he’s doing the indie shit real big, just to congratulations
Who the hell actually believe 50 cent worth 2 or 3 or even 400 million dollars? That is thee only thing he has left to hang on to. Anybody with a retard mind knows that is NOT true. All it takes is a lil common sense, just a lil. He puts that shit out there to look good. 400 mill LMFBAO
50 cent makes rick ross money in years when he does nothing and ross is on his highest top… so imagine what he made from 02-07 when it was all about him and gunit
“Why don’t he sign his fellow underground mcess…your Chino XL, Immortal Technique, Ras kass, killah Priest, Canibus”
Cause then he wouldn’t be worth $6 million.
And what happens if someone ever pull a gun to their faces??? They won’t be able to take all this money to their caskests
Poor people get guns put in their faces too…
But yeah, stacks like that… people should be giving back more.
That needs to be on top of the “things haters say” list immediately lol
Yo BIG congrats 2 tha Good Doc he deserves dat first place shet.I alwayz felt he was the richest anyway only 4 forbes 2 fuck it up.Dre leads while othaz follow. Gangsta !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gees up, bitches n snithces down.