Puff Daddy has topped Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings list for the second year in a row by raking in a cool $62 million over the last 12 months.
A significant portion of Puff's money reportedly comes from his ventures as a mogul, including a very lucrative deal with Cîroc vodka and other entrepreneurial ventures with his Sean John clothing line, restaurants, and more. Of course, he is also currently taking the stage—and making money—on the Bad Boy Reunion Tour.
Rapper, entrepreneur, and investor Jay Z earns the second spot on the Cash Kings list with an income of $53.5 million. Like Puff, most of Jay's income did not come from music but was a direct result of his many business ventures, including his Roc Nation entertainment company, Armand de Brignac champagne, and D'Ussé cognac. Dr. Dre rounds out the top three with a reported $41 million. It's a hefty amount, but it's actually a far cry from Dre's income just two years ago when he reportedly earned the highest single-year income in history for any living celebrity with $620 million. The insanely large payout was a result of his $3 billion Beats buyout from Apple, and he still continues to make money from the deal. He also received a significant portion of his income this past year from the Straight Outta Compton biopic that depicted the beginnings of his group, N.W.A.
Clearly, it's been a massive year for hip-hop in general with the world's 20 highest-paid acts collectively raking in more than $450 million over the last 12 months, which is the list's highest total since 2014 and the third-highest total in the history of the Cash Kings list. You can check out the full list of this year's 20 Hip-Hop Cash Kings here.
- Diddy ($62 million)
- Jay-Z ($53.5 million)
- Dr. Dre ($41 million)
- Drake ($38.5 million)
- Wiz Khalifa ($24 million)
- Nicki Minaj ($20.5 million)
- Pitbull ($20 million)
- Pharrell Williams ($19.5 million)
- Kendrick Lamar ($18.5 million)
- Birdman ($18 million)
