Dr Dre tops Forbes’ Hip Hop Cash Kings list

Forbes has published its list of highest earners in hip hop and Dr Dre has come out on top as the biggest Cash King.

The Aftermath Records Founder and CEO is riding high thanks to the sale of Beats Electronics to Apple, which saw him earn US$620 million. That amount now stands as "the highest yearly earnings total of any musician ever evaluated by Forbes."

The music industry veteran was followed by hip hop moguls Jay Z and Diddy, who both tied for second place each earning US$60 million. Canadian artist Drake took out the fourth position with US$33 million, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis rounded out the top five with $32 million.

Of noteworthy status were Pharrell, producer Swizz Beatz and Nicki Minaj, who placed ninth, sixteenth and eleventh respectively. As the only woman on the list, Minaj may reach loftier heights next year thanks to her upcoming album, The Pink Print.

The list is compiled from "pretax earnings for living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap." Earnings include "income from touring, record sales, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures."

See below for Forbes’ Top 20 Cash Kings

1. Dr. Dre – $620 million
2. Jay Z – $60 million
2/3. Diddy – $60 million
4. Drake – $33 million
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – $32 million
6. Kanye West – $30 million
7. Birdman – $24 million
8. Lil Wayne – $23 million
9. Pharrell Williams – $22 million
10. Eminem – $18 million
11. Nicki Minaj – $14 million
12. Wiz Khalifa – $13 million
13. Pitbull – $12 million
14. Snoop Dogg – $10 million
15. Kendrick Lamar – $9 million
16. Ludacris – $8 million
16. Tech N9ne – $8 million
16. Swizz Beatz – $8 million
16. 50 Cent – $8 million
20. Rick Ross – $7 million
20. J. Cole – $7 million
20. DJ Khaled – $7 million
20. Lil Jon – $7 million
20. Mac Miller – $7 million