The lists of the richest hip-hop artists are regularly compiled by various media. It should be noted that rappers owe their income not to sales of their recordings and concert performances, but to activities in other areas for the success in which they use their popularity.
According to Forbes, in 2012, the highest-income hip-hop artist is Andre Rommel Young, who went down in the history of this musical style as Dr. Dre. This year, his profit amounted to $ 110 million, which allowed his fortune to exceed $ 300 million. This artist has not released a single album in the last 10 years, but now he is reaping the benefits of his active production activities. Dr. Dre helped start a career with such stars as "50 cent", Eminem, Snoop Dog, and is the organizer of the Coachella festival.
In 2009, Dr. Dre made a deal with Hewlett Paccard and participated in the launch of the HP Envy Beats notebook line. He owns Beats Electronics, a Beats by Dr. Dre headphone manufacturer. In 2011, the rapper sold part of his company’s shares to Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC, which allowed him to take a leading position in annual revenue.
Sean Combs is known on the music scene as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and just Diddy. However, neither the constant change of pseudonyms, nor musical creativity 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 received an award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He also owns a film production company, the Ciroc Vodka brand, Justin restaurant chain, and the Bad Boy record label, which releases musicians' albums in platinum circulations.
Among the projects of Sean Combs, it is worth noting the release of I am King perfumes dedicated to Barack Obama and Martin Luther King, and the film “Invincible”, which received the 2012 Oscar as the best documentary. Over the past year, he was able to get rich by $ 45 million. However, his fortune is fully estimated at $ 500 million, which significantly exceeds the amount of Dr. Dre's savings.
Also in the top three richest figures in the hip-hop industry is Jay-Z, who has managed to earn $ 460 million and $ 38 million over the past year. His income is provided by the New Jersey Nets basketball team, the 40/40 club, and sales of the latest Watch the Throne album.
