P. Diddy Tops Forbes's 2015 List Of Hip-Hop Cash King

Rapper Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs led Forbes’ list of the world’s highest paid stars in hip hop music yesterday, edging out Jay Z and Drake for the top spot.

Harlem native Combs, 45, made an estimated US$60 million (RM260 million) between June 2014 and June 2015 according to Forbes’ calculations, from investments outside of music, such as his TV network Revolt and Ciroc vodka.

His albums includes 2001’s “The Saga Continues” and 2010’s “Last Train to Paris,” and he’s working on a new record.

In second place is rap mogul Jay Z (real name Shawn Carter), the 45-year-old founder of Roc Nation music group, who earned an estimated US$56 million from business ventures in music, sports and lifestyle. His 22 shows with his wife, singer Beyonce, helped boost his earnings, Forbes said.

Canadian rapper Drake, 28, came in at No. 3 with US$39.5 million, the bulk of which came from touring, as well as high profile endorsements from Sprite and Nike.

Nicki Minaj was the only woman to crack into the top 10 of the highest paid hip hop acts, coming in at No. 9 with US$21 million from touring and endorsements.

Forbes calculated its list using pre-tax income figures from factors such as record sales, touring, streaming and endorsements using data from Nielsen SoundScan, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and interviews with managers, lawyers and in some cases, the artists themselves.

Other hip hop moguls in the top 10, all of which hail from North America and Canada, include Beats co-founder Dr Dre and rappers Eminem and Kanye West

Full list below

 1.Diddy- $60m

2.Jay Z- $56m

3.Drake- $39.5m

4 Dr. Dre-$33m

5 Pharrell- $32m

6.Eminem- $31m

7 Kanye West- $22m

8 Wiz Khalifa- $21.5m

9 Nicki Minaj- $21m

10 Birdman- $18m

11 Pitbull- $17m

12 Lil Wayne- $15m

13-Kendrick Lamar- $12m

14 J Cole- $11m

15 Snoop Dogg- $10m

16  Rick Ross- $9m

17- Tech N9ne- $8.5m

18 Ludacris- $8m

19-T.I.- $6m

20-Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- $5.5m