With $620 million in estimated pre-tax earnings, veteran rapper and record producer Dr. Dre topped Forbes list as the highest paid hip hop artist, ousting Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs from the top spot.
Forbes said Dre’s estimated annual earnings for the 12 months between June 2013 and 2014 are the highest of any musician in any genre it has ever evaluated, and more than the combined takings of the other 24 names on the hip-hop list released on Tuesday.
Much of the 49-year-old’s earnings this year came thanks to the $3 billion sale to Apple of the Beats high-end headphone company he founded with music executive Jimmy Iovine and other financial ventures, including cognac and vodka brands.
1. Dr. Dre – $620 million
2. Jay Z (tie) – $60 million
2. Diddy (tie) – $60 million
4. Drake – $33million
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – $32 million
6. Kanye West: $30 million
7. Birdman: $24 million
8. Lil Wayne: $23 million
9. Pharrell Williams: $22 million
10. Eminem: $18 million
See the top 20 after the cut…
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. Ludacris: $8 million (tie)
16. Tech N9ne: $8 million (tie)
16. Swizz Beatz: $8 million (tie)
16. 50 Cent: $8 million (tie)
20. Rick Ross: $7 million (tie)
20. J. Cole: $7 million (tie)
20. DJ Khaled: $7 million (tie)
20. Lil Jon: $7 million (tie)
20. Mac Miller: $7 million (tie)