Dr. Dre might not be an actual doctor, heck, he hasn’t even released any music this year, but according to XXL, largely off the back of his part in the $3 billion sale of Beats Music to the U2-endorsing tech giant Apple, the rapper has absolutely smashed his way to the top of the 2014 Forbes “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” list with an estimated $620 million in earnings this year.
This mammoth windfall for the hip-hop mogul is more than the entirety of the remainder of the “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” list (many of whom actually released records and toured in the last 12 months) combined, is easily more than what most actual doctors earned this year, and with a bit of rounding is about $620 million more than what I’ve earned this year working two jobs with a bit of freelance writing on the side.
You can pore over the Top 20 list below while you wonder why you haven’t embarked on a rap career yet.
1. Dr. Dre - $620 million
2. Jay Z - $60 million
2. Diddy - $60 million
4. Drake - $33 million
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - $32 million
6. Kanye West - $30 million
7. Birdman - $24 million
8. Lil Wayne - $23 million
9. Pharrell Williams - $22 million
10. Eminem - $18 million
11. Nicki Minaj - $14 million
12. Wiz Khalifa - $13 million
13. Pitbull - $12 million
14. Snoop Dogg - $10 million
15. Kendrick Lamar - $9 million
16. Ludacris - $8 million
16. Tech N9ne - $8 million
16. Swizz Beatz - $8 million
16. 50 Cent - $8 million
20. Rick Ross - $7 million
20. J. Cole - $7 million
20. DJ Khaled - $7 million
20. Lil Jon - $7 million
20. Mac Miller - $7 million
• Dr. Dre: http://www.beatsbydre.com
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