The hip-hop artists and their fixation with the benjamins are well chronicle with their flashy cars, big gold chains and expensive designer wares. The 2017’s edition of Forbes’ annual ranking of the top five wealthiest hip-hop artists is out and the usual suspects still dominate the list.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is topping the list for the sixth consecutive year with about $820 million. Diddy has business connections include Cîroc vodka, DeLeon tequila, and a large stake in Revolt TV.
Coming in close second is Shawn Corey Carter popularly known as Jay Z with $810 million, just $10 million shy of Diddy’s thanks largely to Sprint’s $200 million investment in his music streaming service Tidal. Jay-Z gained significantly on Diddy over last year with a 30% increase in his net worth. In addition to Tidal, Jay has Roc Nation and Armand de Brignac champagne to boost his income
Following Jay Z in the third position is Dr. Dre whose real name is Andre Romelle Young at $740 million. Although he lags behind Diddy and Jay-Z by about $100 million this year, Dr. Dre still holds the record for the largest single-year payday by a living musician, with his 2014 sale of Beats by Dre to Apple for $3 billion.
Bryan Williams who goes by the stage mane Birdman is the co-owner for Cash Money Records, which is home to Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne, comes in fourth with $110 million. Rumors indicate that the three superstars might be leaving the record company so Birdman’s days on the list may be numbered. Lil Wayne is now on Jay Z’s label.
Finishing fifth is Aubrey “Drake” Graham, whose “Views” world tour raked in almost $1 million per night. He’s worth a comparatively small $90 million. At only 30 years old, however, and with deals with Apple, Nike, and Sprite, the Canadian fortune is only growing.
