Hey rappers! If you strive to be rich, wealthy, ballin’ and have your pockets full of cheddah then just know you’re gonna have to wear your business cap to hit those eight figures. Everyone on the list may have started their career by making music but the non-musical ventures are the ones that catapulted the following rappers onto Forbes’ list: Five of Hip-Hop’s Wealthiest Artists 2013. Peep the list after the jump.
Forbes’ 2013 Top 5 Richest Rappers
1. Diddy – $580 Million
2. Jay-Z – $475 Million
3. Dr. Dre – $350 Million
4. Birdman – $150 Million
5. 50 Cent – $125 Million
Diddy tops the top 5 list thanks to his deal with Ciroc vodka. Jay-Z can thank multiple business agreements including the Rocawear sale in 2007 and a Live Nation deal in 2008. Hov also currently holds stakes in Roc Nation, Carol’s Daughter, the Brooklyn Nets and the Brooklyn venue, The Barclays Center. Dr. Dre has Beats By Dre, which will probably launch him into a higher spot next year after the announcement of their streaming music service, “Daisy.” Lips are sealed about the new music service but I’m extremely curious to see what the Beats By Dre team has up their sleeves. Birdman is sitting nicely at the crest atop the Cash Money/Young Money wave with Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Wayne putting in work. Meanwhile, 50 Cent is making his living off music, merchandise, SMS Audio and SK Energy, to name a few.
So there you have it. Just live life according to Jay-Z’s overly quoted line from Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)”: I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.
Below, listen to Forbes’ writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg break down the top 5 list.