Here are five men in hip-hop who will never have to fill out an Uber application just to treat themselves to new shoes every three years.
It must be hard, waking up in the morning with too much money. How awful it must be to realize a monthly rent payment is never a constant make-it or break-it worry, or to think affordable healthcare is a real thing —because some of those rich folks out there can literally afford a full-service hospital if they had to.
Speaking for all of us digging around the sludge at the bottom of the wealth barrel: Where the hell does that kind of paycheck come from?
For these five men, it started with hip-hop. Once thought of as a passing fad of the mean looking “thugs” from the inner city ghettos, hip-hop — and those who’ve built the era-defining culture — has steady lasted through the test of time. It’s now considered to be one of the most profitable industries in the nation for a select few.
Recently Forbes dropped its “Forbes Five” list of hip-hop’s wealthiest artists of 2015. The finance outlet uses the value of current holdings, looks at past earnings and speaks with analysts, attorneys, managers, other industry “players” and even to the moguls themselves to figure out their obnoxious worth.
Here are five men in hip-hop who will never have to fill out an Uber application just to treat themselves to new shoes every three years.
1. Diddy – $735,000,000
Is it even comprehendible — as in Puff P. Sean Diddy’s case — to have to spend almost $58,000 a day (assuming he’ll live to be 80 years old) before going down six feet under with his bank account reaching zeros? With his hands in music, the TV network Revolt, Sean John and a few beverage companies, Diddy tops the list and squeaks by as the front-runner towards the “First Billionaire in hip-hop” status.
2. Dr. Dre – $700,000,000
Last May when Dr. Dre sold his company Beats to Apple, the acquisition was worth more than $3 billion. After the announcement, Dre prematurely claimed the titled as “First Billionarre in hip-hop” — but realized later he had to share the wealth with everyone else in the company too. Oops. Even still, Dre isn’t worrying about groceries any time soon.
3. Jay Z – $550,000,000
Jay Z has been at the helm of a sinking ship lately behind the relaunch of his confusing streaming service, Tidal, but still fills his coin banks with profits from Roc Nation, Arman de Brignac champagne and The New Jersey Nets — among plenty of others.
4. 50 Cent – $155,000,000
Continuing on in the trend of hip-hop moguls not necessarily making their money from anything related to hip-hop, 50 Cent phattened up his accounts with the sale of Vitaminwater in 2008. He’s also a large shareholder in things like SMS Headphones (the next Dre perhaps?), Effen Vodka a new “technologically enhanced” underwear company named Frigo.
5. Birdman – $150,000,000
And then there’s Birdman, co-founder of the iconic Cash Money Records, giver of artists such as Drake and Nicki Minaj to the world of celebrity, and one-half of the duo Big Tymers. Just like his contemporaries, Birdman’s portfolio is stacked. In 2010 he even went in with his brother Slim to attempt a life of an oil magnate, though recent reports suggest the idea has been nixed. Not to worry, however, because his historical deal made with Universal Records in the past — in where he owns the masters of recordings, something unheard of with large label dealings — likely keeps his power turned on and credit cards unlimited.
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