The Richest Rappers Alive Today

“I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man"— these are the richest rappers alive today who are businesses, man.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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JAY-Z perfectly summed up the sentiment most rappers put forward when they talk about wealth these days in his feature on the Late Registration track "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)": “I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man.” (Sidenote, that’s a perfect line for your Twitter bio). As a matter of fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a hip-hop artist or rapper who hasn’t penned at least one line (let alone a whole album) about how much richer he is than everyone else.

But someone like JAY-Z is just playing in a different league in the music industry when it comes to how much richer he is than most rappers. For proof, look no further than these lyrics off of “Illest Motherfucker Alive” on Kanye West and JAY-Z’s record Watch the Throne (2011): “Basquiats, Warhols serving as my muses/ My house like a museum, so I see ‘em when I’m peeing/ Usually you have this much taste, you European.” JAY-Z legit has masterpieces that are worth more than some people make in their whole lives in his bathroom so he can look at them while he’s taking a piss. It’s no surprise that these lyrics made it on Vice’s 10 Most Ridiculous Unrelatable Rap Lyrics.

Of course, it makes sense then that JAY-Z comes in second on our list of The Richest Rappers Alive Today. The only question to ask yourself about his wealth is if Hova will surpass Diddy and hit a billion dollar net worth in the near future. That’s one race we’ll never be able to compete in (but still are more than curious about).

Some of the names you would expect, and others you may not have known were raking in fortunes like this. For most of the Forbes-worthy people on this list, it’s their investments and businesses outside of rap that are really bringing in money (like JAY-Z’s Tidal, which got a $200 million investment from Sprint, boosting Jay’s net worth by 30%). The rappers on this list are constantly making financial moves, so we worked to find the most updated and accurate cash counts, but with all these hustles, we may be off by a couple million. But suffice it to say, it’s a LOT more than you’re going to be making at your standard nine-to-five. These artists are living lifestyles worth envying (whether you’d prefer to take a dump looking at Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup cans or not).

15. Will.i.am

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14. Timbaland

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13. Drake

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12. Ice Cube

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11. Birdman

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10. Snoop Dogg

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9. Kanye West

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8. Lil Wayne

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7. Pharrell

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6. 50 Cent

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5. Eminem

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4. Master P

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3. Dr. Dre

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2. JAY-Z

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1. Diddy

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