Thu 10 Mar 2011
Diddy Tops Forbes‘ Top Five Wealthiest Hip-Hop Artists List
Posted by Mr.North under good for hip hop[40] Comments
Yesterday, Forbes released a list dubbed The Forbes Five, which lists the top five hip-hop artists with the biggest net worth. Topping the list was Diddy with his Bad Boy Worldwide label, Sean John clothing line and his recent partnership with vodka brand Ciroc; which has him worth an estimated $475 million. Jay-Z, came in second with a net worth of $450 that consisted of his Live Nation deal from 2008, the 2007 sale of his Rocawear clothing line, his 40/40 Club/Sports Bar chain and Translation Ad company to name a few. The other finalists include Dr. Dre at $175 Million along with 50 Cent & Birdman who both round out the list at $100 Million.
Writer Zack O’Malley-Greenberg notes the process and procedures used to come up with the list (numbers): “current holdings, looking at past earnings, leafing through financial documents and talking to a bevy of analysts, attorneys, managers and other industry players to find the nitty-gritty detail”.
Let the debates and subliminals in songs continue…
Previously: Jay-Z Reigns #1 On Forbes 2010 Cash King List
March 10th, 2011 at 9:18 am
“I’m like really half a billie n-gga
Really you got baby money
Keep it real with n-ggas
N-ggas aint got my lady money”
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March 10th, 2011 at 9:48 am
i guess 50 has baby money also huh? damn these are caked up
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March 10th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Does this mean 50′s spending baby money too?
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March 10th, 2011 at 10:11 am
These lists always seem suspect to me when it comes to hiphop earners..only because there is so much grey area as to how these dudes get their money…
I can still remember the totals from a few years ago and they just don’t add up to me…
also if a 2008 & 2007 deal that jay did can make up for his total…why is 50′s 200 Mil deal with the movie company and his 10% vitamin water deal not accounted for…
also…if Baby was nowhere near this total last year…you’re telling me he has amounted to 100 Mil in 12 months with no ventures outside of the music business?? He claims to have an oil righ but that was discredited…
No hate on anyone on this list because I am confident they are def the top hiphop earners..I am just questioning the Net totals..
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pap3rchazer Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
these are only estimates
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Mike S. Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
This list is net worth, not past year earnings. I think you’re confusing this list with previous lists which were of earnings, not worth. That said – since his deal was actually for his film production to produce 10 films – 50 probably won’t see any personal earnings until cheetah vision produces something that turns a profit.
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DaStreets Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
ok if this list is net worth…why are they mentioning things Jay did in 2008 and 2007…you cannot make a selective arguement…50 made at list 100Mil off vitamin water..then he has record sales and tours..he has a website…he has movies (stright to DVD or Theater)…he has a film company as well…I am not sitting here saying he should be #1…all I am saying is that his number seems off…
last year forbes had him at over 250 mil net worth..so you are telling me that he lost more than 50% of his value in 1 year and you and I can even afford to pay our internt bill??
The economy is bad but it aint that bad…lets be realistic..
and like I said in another post…baby does nothing outside of music..yet he has 100 Mil…where is Slim on this list??
Why is EM the highest selling rap artist of all time with yest another album who just went diamond not valued at more than 100Mil…his movie was a success and still gets burn on MTV…his shows are areanas only and sell out everywhere..he has a deal with Chrysler for their new 200..so u are telling me he is not worth anything? hell he gets a cut of 50′s royalties…lets be realistic here
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Hank Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
I don’t think you understand what net worth is.
Mike S. Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
First of all, why do you sound so mad? Chill out some…
Okay, 50 made $100mill off vitamin water in 07. Granted. Other than that what accomplishments has he made compared to Puff and Jay-Z that are substantial?
He tried doing reality TV and failed. He tried G-Unit Clothing….fail. On the other hand Rocawear and Sean John? Win!
Record sales? how much do you really think he makes? Remember, he’s signed to Em and Dre, then Jimmy Iovine is getting paid before any of them. Whereas Jay-Z has owned his own label since his first album.
Tours? I don’t think he’s a light weight in this area, but if I’m not mistaken, he couldn’t even sellout a 5,000 capacity venue during his US tour last year.
His website is worth a little over half a mill (according to teqpad). Just to give an idea of how insignificant that is, Worldstar is worth like 5 times that much.
I may be off a little, but I remember him saying in an interview that his profits are anywhere from $200-$800 thousand for those movies that go straight to DVD. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that’s a whole lot when you’re comparing him to Puff and Jay.
His film company? So far I see one film released under Cheetah Vision, and that’s Before I Self Destruct in ’09……how much do you think that company is WORTH? Anyone can start a film company, you have to actually turn a profit for it to be WORTH something.
As for him being worth $250 million, I don’t remember reading that story. I do remember reading that he made $8 mill last year (in the same time period that Jay-Z made $63 mill and Puff made $30 mill).
I think the thing to remember is WORTH isn’t just earnings, it’s also holdings/assets. Baby is owner of Cash Money as well as an artist. That means that in addition to his split with Slim, he gets paid from publishing, royalties, shows, features, etc. Also, if you didn’t notice, Baby always has a solo album come out right before one of his major artists (he did that with Drake and did it a couple times with Wayne) so that he can capitalize off of their buzz.
Eminem is the highest selling Rap artist, but again, how much do you think he makes off record sales when you compare him to Puff and Jay? His most successful business venture is Shady Records but how much do you think that’s WORTH? Who’s checking for D-12? Not me. Now compare that to Bad Boy and the catalog Puff has. Yeah, The Eminem Show just went diamond….but it was released in ’02. Now I’m not discounting that accomplishment but we’re talking about net WORTH.
Now I’m not sayin that these numbers are exact, but they can’t be that far from when you compare the facts. That’s all I’m sayin..
DaStreets Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Mike..I am far from upset and I fully understand what net worth means..we don’t need to toss insults at each other..I think you misunderstood my point..I am not comparing him to diddy or jay..I would hope as long as they have been in the game that they are worth more than he is..
my point is that the forbes number of 100Mil seems low..and they backed it up with jay’s past ventures..which is why I stated 50′s ventures..
here’s a link which shows a figure for 50 from 2010:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/50_cents_net_worth
if this is true..he lost a hell of a lot in 1 year..
also..I am not the only one who feels this way..allhiphop forums has people arguing the same points I made..so I knew I was not bugging..
also..u said baby is an artist and a ceo..true but we all know baby dont make money like that from his own album..wayne just broke the game wide open with catrer 3 @ 3 Mil in sales..then drake and Nikki at 1 Mil each..and trust me on this..univeral gets a bigger cut from wayne and them than baby does..cause they are all under universal…
da.god.el Reply:
March 22nd, 2011 at 7:25 am
man plz belive it’s easy to lose alot of money,when u putting millions into projects that don’t make money, bill gates lost 20 billion or more last year, 20 BILLION!!, and so did many other billionaires becuase of banks and stealing and people not buying products, da rap game is a bussiness. if the consumer don’t buy u hit!!!. did u know that the richest person in the world now is a mexican(chk forbes)telecom tycoon?. everybody been going broke mostly from trying to be god.But im saying after all that a 100 mil don’t seem like alot to lose when u remenber income and property taxes are due every year.
March 10th, 2011 at 10:20 am
NO baby his not going be happy
it seems like the top 5 keep take turn at the top one year jay one year puffy one year 50..
they say hiphop doesnt run rap anymore but the money says they do
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March 10th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Uh-oh, the hoodrats aint gonna like this. Instead of inspiring, why do articles like this make people start hating? I’m glad these Brothers (that right, capital “B” + the full word) are gettin it! Some people act they they would be happy if they were on the corner, pants saggin, hustling. Almost everyone on that list at one time or another was labeled “corny”, “lame”, “old/irrelavent”, or some other nonsense. Who on this blog can say they’re worth $100 million or better? I’ll trade places any day with them…
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valuesoversecurity Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
it doesn’t matter if they are black or white… concentration of wealth destroys worlds…
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da.god.el Reply:
March 22nd, 2011 at 7:36 am
man plz belive it’s easy to lose alot of money,when u putting millions into projects that don’t make money, bill gates lost 20 billion or more last year, 20 BILLION!!, and so did many other billionaires becuase of banks and stealing and people not buying products, da rap game is a bussiness. if the consumer don’t buy u hit!!!. did u know that the richest person in the world now is a mexican(chk forbes)telecom tycoon?. everybody been going broke mostly from trying to be god.But im saying after all that a 100 mil don’t seem like alot to lose when u remenber income and property taxes are due every year.
and if u look at all the money the billionaires were/and is losing u would go nuts!!. man, bill and them lost more money in 1 yr than any of the rappers kids”s kids will see in a lifetime, even if they made 100-200 mil a year!!! do the math, so what da fuk is a 100 mil?, good money when u anit got it/better than a few mil, but to a billionaire?.(oh and im worth more than all them rappers,tell them: elroy w. is my boss(he owns forbes),u’ll never see em say diff.)
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March 10th, 2011 at 10:40 am
@Missinfo why is eminem never on these list? You telling me “the eminem show” just went diamond and he is not over $100 million? And if Birdman has $100 million what dose Wayne have?
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DaStreets Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
see that right there makes me question these figures…something dont add up.
and like someone else said..if baby got a 100 why is slim not mentioned? he has just as much in cash money as baby does…
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Mike Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
That is a great question… Why isn’t Em ever on this list… I think we can all assume he has over 100mill.. But when you don’t brag as much as other rappers about money Forbes doesn’t count you I guess… And if all the investments 50 has said to be making these past few years to go from 400mill to closer to 100mill or even 200mill then these list seem to be a little fraud…
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Maximus Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:50 am
so Dr dre brags?
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Mike Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
He has a history of it yes.. I know its been 12 years sense you’ve heard it but he does..
binary hex Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Eminem isn’t on there because Dre is.
What you thought Dre made all that money off selling headphones and not releasing albums and not owning the masters to the Chronic?
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March 10th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Birdman….100 million dollars is A LOT of money..no doubt. But they way this dude spends cash….I wonder where he’ll be in 10 years. Also, I wonder is it 100 million period or 100 million for him and ANOTHER 100 million for Slim?
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March 10th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I guess Birdman doesn’t have Jay’s ladies money after all
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Apostile Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Beyonce made $80 million last year. That’s 80% of Baby’s networth in ONE YEAR.
So the ‘lady money’ line is quite possibly correct.
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March 10th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Is it me or does the guy in the pic look like a Jay-z imposter?
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March 10th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
These #s are Way offf
If u check the forbes list from 03-07 alone 50 made close to 450 mill
Your telling me he only has 100 Mil
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Mike Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Yeah the way this list is right now makes it look like the list that came out before when dealing with 50 were lies… Or this is… But it is a big fucking mystery… To think in 03 they said 50 made at or around 50mill then 2 years later cleared his first 100mill… This before the Coca Cola deal that alone puts his net worth at 150mill… If it is true though 50 should have found that Lions Gate deal sooner… Investing in straight to dvd movies and backing Banks album put a dent in his wallet…
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Maximus Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:51 am
ya’ll are some real 50 fans lol it also said jay forth 570 also
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March 10th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
These are estimates. Don’t take them at face value. The only way you’re going to know exactly what these guys are worth is if they show you. I sum it up to one things, these guys are definitely worth way more than me. Lol.
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March 11th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Really who cares r any of these niggas besides 50 giving back to the kids in the hood I could care less what the next man got these niggas aint gonna pay my rent
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March 12th, 2011 at 5:36 am
yeah this list seems very funny b/c i remember when Jay & 50 had the reebok deal. they were saying that Diddy was only worth 250 mill then he made another deal and made it to 400 mill, now fast foward when 50 does “I get Money” forbes had him at number 1 being worth over 450 mill. after his 100 mill from vitamin water, then jay had the nets, rocawear sold, 40/40 and his albums he was supposedly worth well over 650 mill thats when he started claiming “next stop is a billie” but a new list comes out every year and it floats diddy, jay and 50, but i def cant say 50 went from 400+ mill to 100 mill, and jay went from 600+ to being under diddy and diddy has been in music since the 90′s make alot of money. As far as Em goes, i think with forbes ppl like Donald trump and Vince mcmahon (WWE owner) asked them not to publish their Networth, and assets to the public, i believe Em mightve done the same bc if beyonce made 80 mill in one year, em goes triple platinum plus every album in the US and possibly sells 10 mill world wide each time, beyonce does about platinum or double plat. US and about 6 mill worldwide and em sells out just as much shows as she does so its not impossible for him to be filthy rich, but again he made of signed that paper stating he doesn’t want his Net worth or assets in the public only he gives the rights. As far as Baby Goes, wasnt he the first rapper to ever ink a deal worth 100 mill back in the 90′s? you mean to tell me from all those cash money compilations and juvenile, to wayne, hot boyz, tours, shows, everything they did hes ONLY worth 100 mill? we all have to remember MASTER P was the first Rap Billionaire but we stop hearing that
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spirit equality Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Baby’s deal with Universal was for $30 million, but it wasn’t a cash advance, it was money for marketing and promoting Cash Money projects.
I never heard that P was worth a billion. Do you have a link?
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March 12th, 2011 at 5:37 am
Now look at this List,
Master P: Founder of the largley succesful No Limit Records and CEO of P Miller Enterprises.
Net worth: approx $400 million
Russel Simmons: Founder of Def Jam records and succesful entrepeneur
Net Worth: approx $350 million
Jay-Z: Multi Platinum rapper, entrepreneur, founder of Rocafella/Roc Nation, Part owner of an NBA team, former president of Def Jam, Rich ass wife.
Net worth: approx $550 million
Diddy: Founder of Bad Boy records, Sean John Clothing line, entrepreneur and endorser of Ciroc vodka.
Net worth: approx $400 million
50 Cent: Multi-Platinum rapper,record label owner, investor in products such as Vitamin Water, entrepreneur, twitter mogul
Net worth: approx $500 million+
Birdman: entrepreneur, Founder of Cash Money records
Net Worth: approx $400 million
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March 12th, 2011 at 5:43 am
every list including forbes shows something diff, i just think the titles are misread, it could be someone’s assets that are worth specific amounts of money or deals they made that in the future can net them this kind of money, or if your going off of bank statement then we could say diddy 50 or jay has this kindve money but its never clear when these lists are made. bc jay lost 200 mill last year for all those 40/40 closings accidents law suits, the faux fur lawsuit and child labor lawsuits, so we dont really know for sure. But More power to them, they (diddy and jay) need to give back to communities more and not look to be opportunists, i see 50 all the time giving back its rare to see diddy and jay unless theyre cutting a check to give a phony grin and hand shake
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March 12th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
You guys realize 50′s vitamin water deal was debunked right? It wasn’t real. He never owned, nor sold 10% of the company, it was just a lie like Birdman’s oil rig.
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spirit equality Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Can you provide a link that establishes what you’re saying?
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March 14th, 2011 at 4:01 am
Net Worth, means how much you are worth with assets and all that, people get and loose money all the time. And artist can sale 10 million, 20 million Em got like 60 million but it really is about the deal that you sign, Em’s first deal was for like three or five albums, and you are saying an undetermined white kid from Detriot was going to get a big signing bonus, he probably got .30 cents an album after the managers and Dre/Jimmy/Interscope took theirs, and remember that was the first few albums, and dude, does not tour, when was the last show you saw Em, the baseball field joint was nothing, same with 50 he sold a hell of a lot of albums but truth is, he signed a low ball number for the first three albums, so when he renegotiated it was for the last few, that really didn’t do anything, he made more money off the G Unit first album that BISD
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March 14th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Yall are forgetting about tax.. a $100 million dollar deal is equal to about 50 mill in the bank.
50 cents music sucks and I’m sorry everyone, but he’s not as rich as jay and puff and not even close.
End of story. and really.. Who cares?
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March 15th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
WHO GIVES A FUCK? DOES THIS SOMEHOW MAKE THEIR MUSIC BETTER? NO!!
If “Hip Hop Media” would stop concentrating on sales and deals and money and maybe start focussing on *THE MUSIC* ie: the reason we all started loving Hip Hop in the first place, then maybe the kids coming up today wouldn’t be so fixated on whose sales were the biggest; they might even start liking lyrical rappers again!
Fuck outta here with these non-stories. If these dudes aren’t making dope music, I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT.
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November 21st, 2011 at 11:12 am
Birdman gt 440 milli,forbes fuk u nd yo mama
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