It’s not much of a surprise that the year’s top earners made a lot of their cash outside of shows and record releases, with most owning successful brands.
The 45 year-old Money Making Mitch himself, Sean “Diddy” Combs, dethrones Dr. Dre for No. 1 with $60 million, largely through his Ciroc vodka and other brands. The Bad Boy mogul, who is readying his next album No Way Out II, also has his TV network Revolt, clothing line Sean John, and alkaline water brand Aquahydrate, which help account for his fortune.
Runner up Jay Z, also 45, comes in a close second with $56 million, which he earned through Roc Nation and Armand de Brignac champagne.
Canadian rapper Drake, 28, came in at No. 3 (up from No. 4 last year) with $39.5 million, the bulk of which came from touring, as well as high profile endorsements from Sprite and Nike and his Apple collabo.
Rounding out the top five are Dr. Dre ($33 million) and Pharrell Williams ($32 million). See a full list below.
HIP-HOP CASH KINGS FROM JUNE 2015 – JUNE 2015
1. Diddy: $60 million
2. Jay Z: $56 million
3. Drake: $39.5 million
4. Dr. Dre: $33 million
5. Pharrell: $32 million
6. Eminem: $31 million
7. Kanye West: $22 million
8. Wiz Khalifa: $21.5 million
9. Nicki Minaj: $21 million
10. Birdman: $18 million
11. Pitbull: $17 million
12. Lil Wayne: $15 million
13. Kendrick Lamar: $12 million
13. J. Cole: $11 million
14. Snoop Dogg: $10 million
16. Rick Ross: $9 million
17. Tech N9ne: $8.5 million
18. Ludacris: $8 million
19. T.I.: $6 million
20. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: $5.5 million
