Sean “P. Diddy” Combs landed the No. 1 spot on Forbes annual ranking of the highest earning hip-hop stars.
Diddy has a combined net worth of $735 million, derived not just from his music career but his interest in a number of companies. He own a controlling stake in the clothing line Sean John, as well as the bottled water brand Aquahydrate.
Dr. Dre, aka Andre Young, came in second with a net worth of $700 million. While he is best known for his rap and producing career, the vast majority of Young’s fortune came from the sale of Beats Electronics to Apple in 2014. Dre was a 25 percent stake owner and netted $500 million.
Dre is also serving as a producer on “Straight Outta Compton,” based on the true story of gangster rap group N.W.A. Dre was a founding member of the group, along with fellow producer Ice Cube.
Jay Z made the top three, with $550 million. He recently purchased and relaunched Tidal, a music streaming service, though the company has suffered several setbacks in recent weeks. However, he defended the service in a string of tweets, saying “The iTunes store wasn’t built in a day.”
50 Cent and Birdman rounded out the top five, with $155 and $150 million respectively. 50 Cent derived most of his wealth from the sale of Vitaminwater in 2007, while Birdman is still riding high on the success of his Cash Money Record label.
See the complete list at Forbes which estimates the Top 5 artists’ estimated worth:
1. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs – $735 million
2. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young – $700 million
3. Shawn “Jay Z” Carter – $550 million
4. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson – $155 million
5. Bryan “Birdman” Williams – $150 million