Skip to footer

Dr. Dre not a billionaire, but still the richest rapper

Dr. Dre jumped to the top of Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings list after Apple bought Beats for $3 billion. But a hefty tax bill means Dr. Dre isn't a billionaire just yet. 

|
David McNew/Reuters/File
Dr. Dre performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. With $620 million in estimated earnings, the veteran musician and record producer topped Forbes list as the highest paid hip hop artist, ousting Sean "Diddy" Combs from the top spot. REUTERS/David McNew/Files
  • By Jessica Morris CNBC

Apple's $3-billion acquisition of Beats earlier this year helped co-founder Dr. Dre jump to the top of Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings list – but a hefty tax bill means he's not a billionaire just yet.

Prior to the acquisition, a famous – and now deleted - video featured singer-songwriter Tyrese Gibson describe Dr. Dre – whose real name is Andre Romelle Young - as "the first billionaire in hip-hop right here".

But although he's not quite there, pre-tax earnings of $620 million mean he's well on his way. His sizeable fortune outstripped that of all remaining 24 "Cash Kings" combined.

With $60 million each, Jay-Z and P-Diddy took joint second place, but were left trailing behind the Beats co-founder.

Shrewd businessmen Jay-Z has an impressive portfolio, which includes the Roc Nation entertainment empire, a stash of concert dates, his D'Usse Cognac costing around $50 a bottle and new album Magna Carta Holy Grail.

An agreement with Diageo's Ciroc vodka drove most of the earnings of P Diddy – real name Sean Combs - which also got a boost from DeLeon tequila, Blue Flame marketing agency, Sean Jean clothing and Revolt TV.

Canadian rapper and songwriter Drake came in fourth place with an impressive $33 million. His album Nothing Was The Same, an arena tour and endorsement deal with Nike's Jordan line meant his earnings tripled in a year.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who took the title of Best New Artist at this year's grammy awards, came fifth after amassing earnings of $32 million.

Other rich rappers include Kanye West in sixth place ($30 million), Cash Money co-chief Birdman in seventh place ($24 million) and Lil Wayne ($23 million) in eighth place.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Dr. Dre not a billionaire, but still the richest rapper
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0924/Dr.-Dre-not-a-billionaire-but-still-the-richest-rapper
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe