Recession Proof 2K11: Hip-Hop’s Reigning Cash Cows EVERYTHING ELSE BY J. TINSLEY ON MARCH 10, 2011 AT 11:05 PM

Recession Proof 2K11: Hip-Hop’s Reigning Cash Cows

EVERYTHING ELSE    BY J. TINSLEY ON MARCH 10, 2011 AT 11:05 PM 

To be honest, there are so many of these lists that float around I forget which is which. Forbescompiled their top five wealthiest Hip-Hop artists and the tabulation pretty much went as expected. With the exception for one name.

1. Sean Combs a.k.a. Diddy a.k.a. Puffy a.k.a. Puff or let Gotty™ tell it, Big Luce.
2. Jay-Z
3. Dr.”Detox-Is-Still-Coming” Dre
4. Birdman
5. 50 Cent

But when it comes to net worth, Jay-Z is number two. The top spot goes to Sean “Diddy” Combs, who tops our accounting of rap’s richest with a fortune of $475 million, fueled by his interests in Sean John clothing, Bad Boy Worldwide record label and, most significantly, his Diageo joint-venture vodka brand Ciroc. Jay-Z ranks a close second, with $450 million.

Superproducer/rapper Dr. Dre ranks third with $125 million, fueled by past earnings generated from his own career and by helping to launch those of Snoop Dogg and Eminem. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, a onetime Dr. Dre protege who reaped a nine-figure payday from the sale of Vitamin Water to Coca-Cola, rounds out the top five in a tie with Cash Money Records cofounder Bryan “Birdman” Williams at $100 million.

There it is. The five amigos. I could be wrong, but it just feels like Stunna is worth more than $100M. I’m convinced he’s got another $100M more in cash in duffle bags somewhere just in case this rap sh*t ever flies south. Like Ice from Paid In Full said, “I can smell a motherfucker with money.” And that mothafucker has money. No one can convince me otherwise.

Then again, he also spends a lot of money on everything from tats to jewelry to foreign cars, so I guess when you combine the expenses and revenue, that’s about right. With Diddy being where he is and Jay bringing in the amount of cheese he does, I’ll always wonder how much Biggie would have been worth. Especially if his time with Bad Boy didn’t end like the Loon’s, Da Band’s or G-Dep’s of the world.

Oh yeah…Fiddy got more loot than Eminem? How in the Sam Hill did that happen?

The Forbes Five: Hip-Hop’s Wealthiest Artists [Forbes]