At this point in his extensive career, it should never come as a surprise that Jay-Z regularly tops Forbes‘ annual list of hip-hop’s highest earners. After all, he regularly boasts of his numerous investments and business ventures as part of an empire that keeps expanding and prompted him to call himself a “business, man.”
However, some of the other names near the tippy top of that list might make you do a double take. For instance, who would think offhand that the incredibly low-key J. Cole lands comfortably in the top five, just ahead of Pitbull? Or that Kendrick Lamar actually out-earns Drake, despite the Toronto representative’s many, many endorsements and current Aubrey And The Three Amigos tour taking over stadiums across North America?
Of course, some of the performers on the list aren’t surprising at all, with Diddy (aka Love) coming in second to Jay and Kanye West closing out the top 10. With their various entrepreneurial endeavors bringing in the bucks, it’d be more shocking if they weren’t on the list. The top 20 spots are further rounded out by some unexpected names, including Logic, Lil Uzi Vert, and Russ, who is in a three-way tie for the twentieth spot with Meek Mill and Swizz Beats. Travis Scott, Eminem, and Chance The Rapper also make appearances as list fixtures.
Check out the full ranking below.
20. Swizz Beatz ($15 million tie)
20. Russ ($15 million tie)
20. Meek Mill ($15 million tie)
19. Logic ($17 million)
18. Lil Wayne ($19 million)
17. Lil Uzi Vert ($19.5 million)
16. Birdman ($20 million)
15. Travis Scott ($21 million)
14. Chance the Rapper ($21.5 million)
13. Eminem ($23 million)
12. Migos ($24.5 million)
11. DJ Khaled ($27 million)
10. Kanye West ($27.5 million)
09. Future ($30 million)
08. Pitbull ($32 million)
06. Nas ($35 million tie)
06. Dr. Dre ($35 million tie)
05. J. Cole ($35.5 million)
04. Drake ($47 million)
03. Kendrick Lamar ($58 million)
02. Diddy ($64 million)
01. Jay-Z ($76.5 million)
