Everyone knows that rap is one of the most lucrative genres in the music industry, and
many rappers have gone beyond their music to forge whole empires. But who has raked
in the most dough over the years? These are the richest rappers in the world.
New Orleans rapper Birdman is best known for starting Cash Money Records, the label that
launched Lil Wayne's career. Allegedly using $100,000 from his half-brother's drug dealing,
Birdman and his brother founded Cash Money in 1991. They quickly found wild success as
an indie label and attracted backers from the most prestigious recording companies in
the country, and later sold to Universal for millions of dollars in 1998. What's more,
the recording giant allowed Cash Money to keep 85% of its royalties. Cash Money Records
remains one of the most successful hip-hop labels out there, selling over a billion units
to date.
Despite his success, Birdman's net worth has gone up and down over the years. From spending
$70 million on "royalty payments, marketing endeavors and recordings costs" to losing
his $12 million mansion for allegedly defaulting on a loan, the rapper has struggled to manage
his huge fortune.
"It ain't a cash money house without a dollar sign, you know what I'm saying?"
These money problems even led to a feud between Birdman and Lil Wayne, who once had something
of a father-and-son type of relationship. Birdman's net worth fell by $50 million between
2014 and 2017 alone, leaving him with an estimated $110 million by the end of that year.
Lil Wayne broke into the rap game by getting Birdman's attention at just eight years old.
His new mentor signed him to Cash Money Records at 12, placing him in both a duo and a four-person
group before allowing him his first solo record at just 17. An iconic stream of solo records
and mixtapes followed in the early 2000s, and thanks to his smooth flow and intelligent
lyricism, Lil Wayne soon became one of the decade's biggest rappers.
Thanks to the success of his solo career, Wayne was able to start his own label, Young
Money Entertainment. Young Money has featured powerhouses like Nicki Minaj, Drake, DJ Khaled,
and Tyga, and has produced five number one albums to date. Lil Wayne is often credited
for raising a new generation of rap and hip-hop, and many of music's biggest names cite him
as their inspiration.
Lil Wayne has made some efforts to diversify his earnings, too. He wrote a book in 2016
about his time at New York's infamous Rikers Island jail and has signed several brand endorsements.
All in all, his net worth is estimated to sit around $150 million.
After being scouted by Dr. Dre and signed to Death Row Records, Snoop Dogg embarked
on an incredibly successful and lucrative rap career. Snoop is often credited for putting
West Coast rap back on the map, thanks to his mesmerizing flow and funky, old-school
beats. Additionally, Snoop's fun, laid-back personality made him the perfect candidate
for celebrity. His popularity was even largely responsible for the spread of West Coast slang,
including heavy use of the suffix "-izzle."
"Fo shizzle means, in your world, you might say 'oh, for sure.' And now you can say 'fo
shizzle.'"
Snoop's place in the zeitgeist helped maintain his career even when his album sales were
dropping. The early to mid-2000s saw him involved in a variety of side gigs — mainly movie
and TV credits but also some more obscure ventures, including an e-sports gaming league
and a cooking show with Martha Stewart. Between his vast music catalogue and his many businesses,
it's no wonder Snoop Dogg's net worth could be as high as $150 million.
After founding the hip-hop group C.I.A. with two friends, Ice Cube went on to pen the iconic
track "Boyz-in-the-Hood," which he later sold to Easy-E at Ruthless Records. The song became
a smash hit and led to the formation of N.W.A., which was made up of Easy-E, Ice Cube, and
Dr. Dre. The group were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame in 2016 for their
contributions to hip-hop music and culture and are often viewed as pivotal figures in
the gangsta rap movement. After making multiple records with N.W.A., Ice Cube broke out on
his own for a lucrative solo career, and even went on to write tracks for other artists.
In addition to music, Ice Cube has found success in the acting world. He is most known for
appearing in feature films Boyz N the Hood and Ride Along, although he has 81 acting
credits and counting on IMDb, including multiple voice acting roles for video games. He has
also made some ventures into the business world, making headlines in 2019 for forming
a group which would bid on Disney's regional sports networks, valued at $10 billion. Although
it's the subject of some speculation, Ice Cube's net worth could be as much as $160
million.
After first becoming famous on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Drake went on to become one
of the biggest names in the music industry. He started by releasing mixtapes on his MySpace
page, leveraging his minor fame from Degrassi until he eventually got noticed by Lil Wayne
and signed to Young Money Records.
Known for his emotional R&B/rap ballads as well as his dance hits, Drake has been nominated
for 129 major awards and received 27, making him Billboard's most awarded artist in history.
Given his impressive accolades, his estimated $180 million net worth is less than surprising
— but boy, does he spend it. Drake is known for rocking a "million-dollar outfit," sleeping
in a $400,000 bed, and even collecting Hermès Birkin Bags for his future wife, which range
from $8,000 to $2 million, depending on the features.
Drake's estimated net worth also does not include certain assets he owns, such as the
$185 million Boeing 767 jet he was gifted in 2019.
With a successful career in the rap group TRU and his very own record label under his
belt, it's no wonder Master P is so rich — but his label isn't just any old production house.
What makes No Limit Forever so unique is that its artists retain 100% ownership over their
masters and 85% of their sales, thanks to the fact that they are an independent label.
Master P has long been a proponent of artists' ownership over their own music collections,
and his independent label model showed up-and-coming artists the dangers that can come with selling
your soul to a multibillion-dollar record company. Using his business degree to change
the way artists make money off of their music, Master P has helped artists maintain their
rights and created a multimillion-dollar empire inthe process.
Aside from his label, which brings in by far the most cash, Master P has a variety of side
gigs to keep his wallet flush. From a clothing line to energy drinks to a real estate firm,
Master P's business savvy goes far beyond that of most stars. This variety of investments
has brought his net worth estimates to as high as $200 million.
Eminem got his start by competing in the Los Angeles Rap Olympics in 1997. Despite placing
second, his performance got the attention of some major record executives, one of which
handed his tape off to renowned rapper-turned-producer Dr. Dre.
"I just wanna be known as a legitimate MC, and that's all I could have ever hoped for.
To put food on the table doing what I want to do would be the ultimate goal."
Since then, Eminem has gained a slew of milestone achievements, including the title of top-selling
rapper of all time, fastest-selling hip-hop album of all time, and 14th best-selling musical
artist of all time.
With such impressive accolades to his name, it's no wonder that a large chunk of Eminem's
wealth comes from his recording career. But the rapper doesn't stop at solo recordings:
His label Shady Records, which gave 50 Cent his start and birthed the best-selling 8 Mile
soundtrack, is constantly earning him royalties. Additionally, most of his money comes from
his tours. He earned $3 million for a two-night gig in the U.K., brought in $12.4 million
with the help of Rihanna for a two-night deal at Metlife Stadium, and gained $5 million
per show on the pair's co-headlined Monster Tour. Additionally, he maintains smaller sums
from film appearances and brand endorsements, making his potential net worth as high as
$230 million.
Dr. Dre is one of the most famous rapper-producers in music history. He has produced for some
of the biggest names in the industry, from Mary J. Blige to 2Pac, and is credited with
launching Eminem's career. But before he used his award-winning production skills to co-found
Death Row Records, he found fame as a member of the gangsta rap group N.W.A.
Dre is also known for his top-selling headphone collaboration, Beats by Dre. Beats was started
as an electronics company but eventually came to include a music streaming service. The
two-piece company was purchased by Apple for $3 billion in 2014.
Between his business and his music, Dr. Dre has earned a whole heap of money over the
course of his career. However, despite declaring himself a billionaire in 2014, Dr. Dre's net
worth is actually estimated by Forbes to be around $800 million. Even at this lower figure,
however, Dr. Dre is still one of the wealthiest rappers in the world.
P. Diddy is an accomplished rapper, record executive, and entrepreneur. He got his start
at Uptown Records as a talent director but was later fired. In protest, he founded his
own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, at just 24 years old. From there, he made two
crucial decisions in starting his fledgling label. First, he was able to poach Uptown
newcomer The Notorious B.I.G., whose rise to fame helped cement his label's reputation.
His second move was to form an illustrious production crew, The Hitmen, who were able
to pull big names from Usher to Aretha Franklin. Diddy's success with his label, coupled with
his critically acclaimed studio albums, helped him achieve legendary status in the hip-hop
community.
Like many of the other rappers on this list, P. Diddy has embarked on some extremely lucrative
entrepreneurial endeavors. He is most known for Ciroc vodka, with whom he partnered in
2007, as well as his clothing line Sean John. Thanks to his long career in music and business,
his net worth could be as much as $900 million.
Known for his incredible business acumen as well as his rapping skills, it's no wonder
Jay-Z has earned so much over the years. He quickly rose to fame after starting Roc-A-Fella
Records in 1995 and releasing his platinum album, Reasonable Doubt, the following year.
Although he announced his retirement from performing in 2003, he was later named president
of Def Jam Records and went on to release multiple critically acclaimed albums. For
his continued presence in the music industry, he was even inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 2021.
But Jay-Z's expertise doesn't stop at music. The rapper's business investments are what
made him most of his money — and what earned him the title of "hip-hop's first billionaire"
in 2019. Much of Jay-Z's wealth comes from his investment properties in trendy Los Angeles
and New York neighborhoods, his $100 million stake in music streaming service Tidal, a
$70 million stake in Uber, his music catalogue, and his $410 million stake in Armand de Brignac
champagne and D'Usse cognac. In fact, his stakes in Tidal and his champagne brand alone
caused his net worth jump an entire 40% in 2021, bringing him to a staggering $1.4 billion.
The now-infamous Kanye West broke onto the scene in 2000 with a production role on Jay-Z's
second studio album, The Blueprint. Since then, he has released nine studio albums and
three collaborative albums and produced for a variety of artists, including Mariah Carey
and Jermaine Dupri. In recent years, his marriage to Kim Kardashian, struggles with mental illness,
and political views have brought him much controversy. But despite his struggles, he
maintains his spot as the richest rapper in the entire world.
There's been a little contention over West's exact net worth lately, with Forbes insisting
that it sits around $1.8 billion and Bloomberg claiming it could be as much as $6.6 billion,
depending on the outcome of an upcoming deal with Gap.
Even by the most conservative estimates, however, West is still the richest rapper by several
hundred million dollars. His wealth mostly comes from his music sales in addition to
stocks and royalties of his clothing brand, Yeezy. If his net worth of $6.6 billion is
to be believed, he would be the richest Black person in America by about $2 billion and
the richest Black person in the world.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite
stuff are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.