Sean "Diddy" Combs Tops Forbes' Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artist List

Music mogul leads the pack with an estimated fortune of $700 million

By Jordana Ossad Apr 16, 2014 4:25 PMTags
Sean P. Diddy Combs, Dr. DreJack Plunkett, AP for Dell, Inc.; Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Beats by Dre

And the wealthiest hip-hop artist of the year is...

Sean "Diddy" Combs!

After all, he does rap about money...a lot.

The musician and entrepreneur is the leader of the extremely wealthy pack with an estimated fortune of $700 million, according to Forbes. His net worth is up about $120 million from last year, due in large part to his addition of Revolt TV—the "new, music-focused, multi-platform channel of which he's the majority owner—to his already-hefty portfolio."

Dr. Dre finished in second place, with $550 million. The rapper's quick climb up the list is thanks to his headphone company Beats by Dr. Dre, which he founded with Jimmy Iovine in 2008. The company "controls an astounding two-thirds of the premium headphone market."

Jay Z is not far behind Dr. Dre, landing in third place with an estimated $520 million.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Hov's past big deals include his "$204 million Rocawear sale in 2007 and his $150 million pact with Live Nation" but his recent financial success comes from Roc Nation.

Beyoncé's hubby's record label and management firm recently added a sports agency. Baseball star client Robinson Cano left the New York Yankees and signed a colossal $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners.

According to Forbes, the magazine looks at "past earnings, valuing current holdings, leafing through financial documents and talking to analysts, attorneys, managers, other industry players and even some of the moguls themselves" when creating the list.

Bryan "Birdman" Williams and 50 Cent round out the list.