Forbes Names 5 Wealthiest Hip-Hop Artists of 2017

As they usually do around this time of the year, Forbes has released their 2017edition of five wealthiest Hip-Hop artists.

Once again, it’s Diddy who has topped the list once again with estimated fortune of $820 million. Most of it is thanks to his lucrative Cîroc vodka deal with Diageo. His friend Jay Z comes in at the #2 spot with $810 million. Hov’s champagne brand, Armand de Brignac has been doing pretty well and his entertainment company Roc Nation is picking up stream in both music and sports departments. Not to forget, Mr. Carter’s earnings jumped nearly 30% in the past year after a $200 million investment from Sprint earlier this year.

Dr. Dre is still reaping benefits from his much talked about Beats sale to Apple for $3 billion and hence, manages to crack the top three again with $740 million. At number 4, there is Cash Money head honcho Birdman while his artist Drake comes in $5. Drizzy’s last two projects Views and More Life have done extremely well plus his deals with Apple, Nike and Sprite are keeping the money inflow going.

For calculating the estimates, Forbes looks at past earnings, value current holdings, leaf through financial documents, talk to analysts, attorneys, managers, other industry players and even some of the moguls themselves to find the details.

Forbes’ 5 Wealthiest Hip-Hop Artists of 2017:

1. Diddy ($820 million)
2. Jay Z ($810 million)
3. Dr. Dre ($740 million)
4. Birdman ($110 million)
5. Drake ($90 million)