'Forbes': Jay-Z tops hip-hop earners list with $63 million

BYRose Lilah217 Views
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They're called Hip-Hop's Cash Kings. And that name says it all.


While the economy has been shaky and the music industry in flux, Jay-Z has prospered. Over the past 12 months, the music mogul has pulled in $63 million, landing him at the top of Forbes' Hip-Hop top-earners list. He's the king of the Cash Kings.

They're called Hip-Hop's Cash Kings. And that name says it all.

While the economy has been shaky and the music industry in flux, Jay-Z has prospered. Over the past 12 months, the music mogul has pulled in $63 million, landing him at the top of Forbes' Hip-Hop top-earners list. He's the king of the Cash Kings.

"Jay-Z is in a league of his own right now," Ryan Schinman, chief of Platinum Rye, the country's largest buyer of music and talent for corporations, tells Forbes. "There are very few artists of any genre, not just hip-hop, who've created such brands for themselves."

(Just last month, we told you that Jay-Z's $63 million put him at No. 6 on Forbes' Top-Earning Musicians of 2010 list. Wife Beyonce landed at No. 3 on that list, outearning Jay-Z with $87 million.)

The No. 2 man on the Hip-Hop list isn't even that close behind. Diddy pulled in $30 million.

Following him are:

No. 3: Akon, $21 million
No. 4: Lil Wayne, $20 million
No. 5: Dr. Dre, $17 million
No. 6: Ludacris, $16 million
No. 7: Snoop Dogg, $15 million
No. 8: Timbaland, $14 million
No. 9: Pharrell Williams, $13 million
No. 10: Kanye West, $12 million


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<b>Editor-in-Chief</b> <!--BR--> Rose Lilah updates HNHH daily, while also managing the other writers on-staff and all HNHH contributors. She oversees site content in general, whether that be video, editorial or music. Not so unlike Kanye, she just wants one thing out of life: dopeness. <strong>Favorite Hip Hop Artists:</strong> Atmosphere, Eminem, Sir Michael Rocks, Jay Z, The-Dream, Curren$y, Drake, Ab-Soul, Boldy James, Outkast, Kevin Gates