*It’s no surprise that Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter – who stacks money as a rap artist, as the president of Def Jam, as the co-owner of NBA’s New Jersey Nets and through various other ventures – is the richest man in hip hop according to a new tally from Forbes.com.
The mogul made $34 million in 2006, followed by 50 Cent with a total of $32 million last year. Rounding out the top five are Diddy ($28 million), Timbaland ($21 million) and Dr. Dre ($20 million).
E! Entertainment count down the entire list of 20 in the one-hour special “Hip Hop Cash Kings,” which premieres tomorrow (Aug. 18) at 6 p.m. ET and features exclusive interviews with Big Boi, Lil Jon, T.I., Swizz Beatz and Scott Storch – all of whom appear on the list.
Rappers in the $17 million range include Eminem (No. 6), Snoop Dogg (No. 7), Kanye West (No. 8), Pharrell Williams (No. 9) and Scott Storch (No. 10). The $16 million crowd includes Ludacris (No. 11) and T.I. (No. 12), while OutKast (No. 13) and Lil Jon (No. 14) each made $14 million in 2006.
The final six Hip Hop Cash Kings are Ice Cube (No. 15) with $13 million, Jermaine Dupri (No. 16) with $12 million, Swizz Beats (No. 17) with $12 million, Chamillionaire (No. 18) with $11 million, The Game (No. 19) with $11 million and Yung Joc (No. 20) with $10 million.
