Dr. Dre Handily Tops Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Acts 2014 List
Dr. Dre was out here declaring himself hip-hop’s first billionaire before Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats was even confirmed, so it should come as no surprise that he easily coasted to the top of Forbes’ latest hip-hop money list. According to Forbes, Dre netted $620 million in the past year, more than 10 times as much as the runners-up, Jay Z and Diddy, who each earned about $60 million. (Who’d have ever thought $60 million could seem so paltry?)
Other notable finishers include Drake (#4 with $33 million), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (#5 with $32 million), and Kanye West (#6 with $30 million). I guess relatively flaccid sales for Yeezus didn’t exactly ruin the guy, huh? Also of note: The only woman in the top 25 is Nicki Minaj, whose $14 million payday ranks her at #11.
Read the full report at Forbes, and check out the hard numbers below.
01 Dr. Dre – $620 million
02 Jay Z – $60 million
02 Diddy – $60 million
04 Drake – $33 million
05 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – $32 million
06 Kanye West – $30 million
07 Birdman – $24 million
08 Lil Wayne – $23 million
09 Pharrell Williams – $22 million
10 Eminem – $18 million
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
16 Tech N9ne – $8 million
16 Swizz Beatz – $8 million
16 50 Cent – $8 million
20 Rick Ross – $7 million
20 J. Cole – $7 million
20 DJ Khaled – $7 million
20 Lil Jon – $7 million
20 Mac Miller – $7 million
[Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images.]