Published: Monday - August 18, 2008
Words by Allen Starbury
50 Cent (Photo: Getty Images)
Last year it was Jay-Z who led the way on Forbes new list for Hip-Hop Cash Kings, but he was dethroned despite landing a huge deal with Live Nation, worth an estimated $150 million.
Hov did land at no. 2 on the 2008 list, but it was 50 Cent (real name: Curtis Jackson) who is crowned the 2008 Hip-Hop Cash King by the magazine, who reportedly earned a whopping $150 million over the past 12 months.
According to Forbes, Fiddy banked $100 million (after taxes) thanks to his stake in VitaminWater's parent, Glacéau, which was bought by Coca-Cola as part of a $4.1 billion deal.
Additionally, the rapper's portfolio also includes a successful clothing line, record label, film roles, video games, and of course record sales from several albums, including his most recent platinum selling Curtis album.
Forbes reports that he's also working on a mining partnership with South African billionaire Partrice Motsepe.
Jay-Z raked in $82 million, coming in at no. 2, thanks to his American Gangster album, his Live Nation deal, and his other business ventures.
Coming in at no. 3 for the second year in a row is Diddy. The music mogul earned a reported $35 million last year from his many businesses and deals -- including his Sean John clothing line, his Bad Boy label, his deal with Ciroc vodka, and two reality shows.
Ironically, 50 Cent grabbed both Diddy and Jay-Z last year when they earned the top three spots for his "I Get Money (Forbes Remix)," and here they are again.
Right behind the Big Three is Kanye West, taking the no. 4 spot with a cool $30 mill. His position comes as his third solo album became one of the best selling last year, beating out 50 Cent's Curtis in a head-to-head battle the pair staged for publicity.
At no. 5 we see Timbaland with $22 mill, thanks to his endless list of producer credits.
The rest of the list is as follows, see the entire list with photos at Forbes.com:
No. 6: Pharrell Williams - $20 mill No. 7: Swizz Beats - $17 mill No. 8: Snoop Dogg - $16 mill No. 9: Dr. Dre - $15 mill No. 10: Ludacris - $14 mill No. 11: T.I. - $13 mill No. 11: Lil Wayne - $13 mill No. 12: Eminem - $12 mill No. 12: Common - $10 mill No. 12: Akon - $12 mill No. 13: Jermaine Dupri - $11 mill No. 13: Lil Jon - $11 mill No. 14: Outkast - $10 mill No. 14: Chamillionaire - $10 mill No. 14: The Game - $10 mill
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