Lists of the richest hip-hop artists are regularly compiled by various media outlets. It should be noted that rappers owe their income not to the sales of their records and concert performances, but to activities in other areas, for which they use their popularity to succeed.
According to Forbes, in 2012, the highest-earning hip-hop artist is André Rommel Young, who went down in the history of this musical style as Dr. Dre. This year, his profit was $ 110 million, which allowed him to surpass the $ 300 million mark. This artist has not released a single album in the past 10 years, but he is now reaping the fruits of his active production. Dr. Dre has helped launch the careers of such stars as "50 Cent", Eminem, Snoop Dog, and is the organizer of the Coachella Festival.
In 2009, Dr. Dre struck a deal with Hewlett Paccard to launch the HP Envy Beats laptop line. He owns Beats Electronics, which makes Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. In 2011, the rapper sold a stake in his venture to the Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC, which allowed him to take the lead in annual revenue.
Sean Combs is known in the music scene as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and just Diddy. However, neither the constant change of pseudonyms, nor musical creativity now play a big role for his well-being, which is ensured by active entrepreneurial activity. The rap artist has his own clothing lines Sean John and Sean by Sean Combs, which even won an award from the Fashion Designers Council of America. He also owns a film production company, the Ciroc Vodka brand, the Justin restaurant chain and the record label Bad Boy, which releases musicians' albums in platinum editions.
Sean Combs' projects include the release of I am King, a perfume dedicated to Barack Obama and Martin Luther King, and Invincible, which won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Over the past year, he was able to enrich himself by $ 45 million. However, his fortune is fully estimated at $ 500 million, which significantly exceeds the amount of savings of Dr. Dre.
Also in the top three richest figures in the hip-hop industry is Jay-Z, who managed to earn $ 460 million for all time and $ 38 million over the past year. His income comes from the New Jersey Nets basketball team, the 40/40 club and the sales of his latest album, Watch the Throne.
