In May, Forbes released its annual Forbes Five list of the richest hip-hop artists, and now the magazine is sharing its rankings of this year’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings. While the Forbes Five is based on net worth, Hip-Hop Cash Kings was calculated from “pretax income from touring, record sales, streaming, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other business ventures” from June 2015 to June 2016.
Diddy led the way for the second consecutive year with $62 million earned, mostly from his Ciroc vodka deal and the beginning of his Bad Boy Reunion Tour. Jay Z pulled in $53.5 million based on business ventures including Roc Nation, Armand de Brignac champagne, D’Usse cognac, and presumably a cut of Tidal’s profits, if there were any. Dr. Dre scored a cool $41 million from his role as executive producer of last year’s Straight Outta Compton biopic and the release of its accompanying album. Drake followed with $38.5 million profited from Views and touring, along with his close relationship with Apple. Wiz Khalifa rounded out the top five as his constant touring added up to $24 million.
Other notable entries include Kendrick Lamar at no. 9, Kanye West at no. 11, and DJ Khaled at no. 12. West should rank higher next year based on his Saint Pablo Tour and Yeezy Season 4 fashion line, as Khaled’s Major Key and Apple Music deal will be factored in the time 2017 rolls around.
Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings 2016
1. Diddy: $62 million
2. Jay Z: $53.5 million
3. Dr. Dre: $41 milion
4. Drake: $38.5 million
5. Wiz Khalifa: $24 million
6. Nicki Minaj: $20.5 million
7. Pitbull: $20 million
8. Pharrell Williams: $19.5 million
9. Kendrick Lamar: $18.5 million
10. Birdman: $18 million
Head over to Forbes for the full list.
