Forbes magazine published a list of 20 highest-paid hip-hop artists of 2019. The list is compiled using information from the figures that are based on data from Nielsen Music, Pollstar, Bandsintown and interviews with experts, handlers and some of the stars themselves.
The entrance bar this year is higher than it has ever been – $18M, confirming that hip-hop became an extremely lucrative business.
But not all rappers on this list made their money on music. For example, Kanye West, who tops the chart with the lump sum of $150M, almost twice as big as $81M of Jay-Z who holds the second place, made his money selling sport shoes.
Eminem, who is not new on this list, sits on the comfortable 6th place with his $50M of net profit, $37.4M of which he earned from his concerts this year alone.
Full List: The World’s 20 Top-Earning Hip-Hop Stars
1. Kanye West ($150 million)
2. Jay-Z ($81 million)
3. Drake ($75 million)
4. Diddy ($70 million)
5. Travis Scott ($58 million)
6. Eminem ($50 million)
7. DJ Khaled ($40 million)
8. Kendrick Lamar ($38.5 million)
9. Migos ($36 million)
10. Childish Gambino ($35 million)
11. J. Cole ($31 million)
12. Nicki Minaj ($29 million)
13. Cardi B ($28 million)
14. Swizz Beatz ($23 million)
15. Meek Mill ($21 million)
16. Birdman ($20 million)
17. Future ($19.5 million)
18. Nas ($19 million)
19. Wiz Khalifa ($18.5 million)
20. Pitbull ($18 million)
