Jay Z, Drake, Dr. Dre: Who's the Highest-Earning Act in Hip-Hop After Banking a Cool $620 Million?

Rapper also earned the title of highest paid musician ever evaluated by the publication

By Mike Vulpo Sep 23, 2014 11:54 PMTags
Dr. Dre, BeatsPatrickMcMullan.com via AP Images

He may not have released an album in the past 12 months, and he definitely didn't go on tour with a major A-list artist.

But in the case of Dr. Dre, the music star was still able to earn Forbes' title of World's Highest Paid Hip-Hop Act of 2014.

Thanks to Apple buying out Beats by Dre for a cool $3.2 billion, the 49-year-old earned an impressive $620 million, the highest yearly earnings total of any musician ever evaluated by the publication. The deal will eventually turn the rapper into hip-hop's first billionaire!

The huge sum of money is more than what the next 24 artists earned combined. So impressive! 

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

So who else in the hip-hop community made the cash kings list? Turns out Jay Z and Diddy both earned second place with a respective $60 million each.

Beyoncé's husband earned his impressive total thanks to a growing Roc Nation empire, concerts, his latest album and his drink, D'Ussé cognac.

In comparison, Diddy has Diageo's Cîroc vodka to thank for a majority of his profits. He also earned his money through DeLeon tequila, Blue Flame marketing, Sean Jean clothing and Revolt TV.

For those who don't remember, Diddy topped the list in 2013 by earning a whopping $50 million. Not bad for a guy who's been in the business for more than 20 years. 

Drake and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rounded out the top five by earning around $32 million each.

Forbes compiled the annual list by looking at income from record sales, publishing, merchandise sales, tours and endorsement deals. They also talked to managers, agents, lawyers and some of the hip-hop artists to help determine their earnings.

For a complete list of hip-hop cash kings, read the Forbes article here!