Today Forbes unveiled its list of the top earners in the hip hop industry for 2009. The past year has been even crueler to rap than it’s been to Wall Street. Over the past 12 months, hip-hop’s top 20 earners banked $300 million, down 40% from a year ago -and worse than the Dow Jones industrial average’s 30% drop. The culprit: declining record sales and the disappearance of the mega-deals that once enriched hip-hop stars and corporate executives alike. Still, rising stars like Akon andT-Pain continue to brighten the hip-hop heavens, finding ever more creative ways to make money.
Jigga man reclaimed his crown as the top Hip-Hop Cash King despite taking a steep 57% pay cut from the $82 million he brought in a year ago. Check out the rest of the list below.
Jay-Z – 35 Million
Diddy – 30 Million
Kanye West – 25 Million
50 Cent – 20 Million
Akon – 20 Million
Lil Wayne – 18 Million
Timbaland – 17 Million
Pharrell – 16 Million
T-Pain – 15 Million
Eminem – 14 Million
Dr.Dre – 13 Million
Snoop Dogg – 11 Million
Ludacris – 10 Million
Common – 8 Million
Will.I.Am – 8 Million
T.I. – 8 Million
Swizz Beatz – 8 Million
Andre 3000 – 7 Million
Big Boi- 7 Million
Flo-Rida – 6 Million
Rick Ross – 6 Million
The Game – 6 Million
Young Jeezy- 6 Million
Flo-Rida? Really? Stop buying ring tones and chop them yourself!! Please.
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