Forbes is back with their famous Hip-Hop Cash Kings list and topping it again this year is none other than Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Diddy earned approximately $62 million, mainly thanks to his Ciroc deal. Jay Z comes in at #2 with $53.5 million due to profits from Roc Nation, TIDAL, Armand de Brignac champagne, and D’Ussé cognac.
Dr. Dre manages to stay within the top 3, coming in at #3 with $41 million while Drake falls out of the same, arriving at the 4th spot with $38.5 million. Interestingly, Wiz Khalifa joins the top 5 this time with earnings arising out of music and over 70 live shows. Nicki Minaj is the only female artist to make it on the list. Below is the criteria on which Forbes bases its list. You can peep last year’s here.
To formulate our list, we consider pretax income from touring, record sales, streaming, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other business ventures. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted. Earnings are calculated from June 2015 to June 2016 and based on data from Nielsen SoundScan, Pollstar, Bandsintown, the RIAA and from interviews with managers, lawyers, executives and a handful of the artists themselves.
Full List:
1. Diddy ($62 million)
2. Jay Z ($53.5 million)
3. Dr. Dre ($41 million)
4. Drake ($38.5 million)
5. Wiz Khalifa ($24 million)
6. Nicki Minaj ($20.5 million)
7. Pitbull ($20 million)
8. Pharrell ($19.5 million)
9. Kendrick Lamar ($18.5 million)
10. Birdman ($18 million)
11. Kanye West ($17.5 million)
12. DJ Khaled ($15 million)
13. ASAP Rocky ($13 million)
14. J. Cole ($14 million)
14. Lil Wayne ($14 million)
14. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ($14 million)
17. Snoop Dogg ($12.5 million)
18. Eminem ($11 million)
19. Swizz Beatz ($10 million)
20. Rick Ross ($10 million)
20. Ludacris ($10 million)