'Forbes' Names its 2015 Hip-Hop Cash Kings

Forbes‘s annual Hip-Hop Cash Kings list is back for its latest annual installment as the financial publication names the highest earners in the genre over the past twelve months. As you may have guessed, Puff Daddy (“Don’t worry if I write rhymes, I write checks.”) lands at the top of the list, beating out Jay Z by $4 million with $60 million earned. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Drake lands in third at $39.5 million while Dr. Dre and Pharell round out the top five with $33 million and $32 million, respectively. “Calculated from June 2014 to June 2015 and based on data from Nielsen SoundScan, Pollstar, the RIAA and from interviews with managers, lawyers, executives and a handful of the artists themselves” and named based on “pretax income from touring, record sales, streaming, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other business ventures,” this year’s top 20 Hip-Hop Cash Kings appears below while the full piece can be read over at Forbes‘s website.

Forbes’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings 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
14. J. Cole – $11 million
15. 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