Diddy runs the city and the Forbes’ list. For 2014, he’s topped the the Forbes Five: Wealthiest Hip-Hop Artists.
Amazingly enough, Dre is not the richest man in hip-hop; that honor goes to Diddy, who clocks in at $735 million. The news may come as a surprise to many – especially after Dr. Dre’s Apple Beats deal. Dre’s deal, whose value was initially reported at $3.2 billion, ended up at an even $3 billion in cash. After taxes, Dre’s 25% stake left him with a $500 million windfall–$100 million more than FORBES estimated his stake to be worth last April–and a net worth of $700 million. But while Dre’s wealth derived from a single jackpot idea, Diddy’s is the product of his interests in a slew of companies.
After him, it was Jay Z at a healthy $550 million. Most of which is associated with the purchase and relaunch of the Scandinavian streaming service Tidal this year with promises of creating an artist-owned Spotify competitor set apart by exclusive content.
50 Cent and Birdman round out the list of five, with fortunes of $155 million and $150 million, respectively. The latter’s total dipped slightly due to uncertainty surrounding Cash Money Records, by far his biggest asset, which has been dogged by rumors of the departure of big acts including superstar Lil Wayne.
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