Who Are The Richest Rappers in the World

Usually it’s the same players and their net worth moving up or down a bit based on investments. No matter how it shakes out, we include all of the data we can get from publicly available sources. It may not be perfectly accurate, but it’s pretty darned close.

Comparing this list to the most streamed artists of all time is also quite insightful with two rappers featured in both. I will let you guess which ones.

It’s a huge grind and it’s often not even about skill, but about connections. Many spits rhymes for decades and never breakthrough, but those that do have a great chance to join the following list of the top 10 richest rappers in the world…

#10 – Ice Cube

Net Worth: $160 Million

Change: +$60M & ↑2 – O’Shea Jackson has been in the game as long as Dr. Dre, starting in the same group called N.W.A. After an illustrious solo career including 10 albums, he ventured into Hollywood films and television, starring in classic urban movies, comedies, and even children’s movies.

His music career continued as a member of the successful Westside Connection. As an entrepreneur, Jackson owns a clothing line, Solo by Cube, and a 3-on-3 basketball league called Big3. He’s still stacking up music and movie awards to this day.

His rap name comes from a threat his older brother gave him, in which O’Shea would be “slammed into a freezer and only pulled out once he was an ice cube.” His cousin is none other than Del the Funky Homosapien. He began writing rhymes at age 9 and sold his first song at 16 to later N.W.A. group member Eazy-E.

#9 – Lil Wayne

Net Worth: $170 Million

Change: +$17M & ↓1 – Weezy was doing just fine as a Cash Money rap artist, but once he broke off from Birdman (also on this list!) and started his own label Young Money, things really took off. As a former member of the Hot Boys, he became the hottest act on Cash Money once Juvenile left the label.

He also had a stint as the go-to guy for guest appearances, netting him tons of royalties. He’s the first male to surpass Elvis Presley with the most Billboard Hot 100 songs, coming in at 109 total thus far. He’s earned his spot as one of the best-selling artists of all time and will continue to climb as he keeps launching superstars like Drake and Nicki Minaj.

His real name is Dwayne, but he dropped the ‘D’ out of disappointment with his absentee father. At the age of 12, Wayne survived a gun shot wound to the chest, which he revealed decades later was an act of self-harm. His favorite band is Nirvana. Among his many tattoos is a portion of Jay Z lyrics on his leg.

#8 – Pharrell

Net Worth: $200 Million

Change: +$49M & ↑1 – Pharrell Williams got his break as part of the beat production duo The Neptunes, and then pushed it higher as the lead vocalist of N*E*R*D. His production skills led to him being the go-to beat maker for hip-hop and R&B artists for years as well.

This ultimately landed him ten Grammys, and his songs in the film have even won him Academy Awards. He even became a coach on TV show ‘The Voice.’ He now runs a record label and multimedia creative collective called ‘i am OTHER.’

To top things off, he’s partnered with tons of international companies to create streetwear brands, sneakers, jewelry, sunglasses, furniture, sculptures, textiles, and so much more. He’s on the grind for sure.

Esquire named Pharrell the best dressed man in the world. He’s an avid skateboarder with a half-pipe inside his house. He composed the entire soundtrack for the Despicable Me animated movie. He’s the 12 artist to hold the #1 and #2 spots on the Billboard Top 100 at the same time.

#7 – Master P

Net Worth: $200 Million

Change: -$50M & ↓3 – Percy Miller made unbelievable amounts of money while his record label No Limit Records was owning the rap scene. He launched countless stars in that time, striking while the iron was hot and releasing as much as ten times the number of albums as in previous years. He managed to sign Snoop Dogg for a three-album deal in the late 90’s.

Though he broke into television, movies, and even professional wrestling, he’s broken into travel, real estate, stocks, toys, sports, cars, and other industries. He managed to do all of this without winning any of the major music awards. He’s the king of diversified income.

Percy had a contract to play for both the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors in the 1999 pre-season, out of which he did not graduate. He played in minor leagues successfully though. He ran a WCW stable called the No Limit Soldiers, where his crew feuded against The West Texas Rednecks. He also appeared in season 2 of Dancing with the Stars.

#6 – Eminem

Net Worth: $230 Million

Change: +$20M – Marshall Mathers is another Dr. Dre protege that spawned his own record label, Shady Records, and launched his own set of superstars. He has earned 15 Grammy Awards and is the first rapper to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Song from his movie 8 Mile, in which he was the lead actor.

Mathers is an author as well. He’d absolutely be in a higher position on this list if he invested outside of music as much as other artists have, and not have been sued countless times. He’s one of the only few on this list to also feature in the list of best rappers of all time.

Eminem was once assaulted by a bully in elementary school, receiving a serious head injury. His family sued the school but the judge dismissed the case, saying schools are immune from lawsuits. Marshall wrote about this experience in the song ‘Brain Damage,’ and his bully later sued him for invading his privacy and placing him in a negative light. The judge dismissed this case too, delivering the verdict in rhyme form. Eminem has been sued by his own mother for slander, too.

#5 – Drake

Net Worth: $260 Million

Drake’s career properly took off when Lil Wayne signed him to his own label, Young Money, in June 2009 and is now regarded as one of the kings of rap. He has won four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy for the Best Rap Album for “Take Care” at the 55^th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. He has also outsold several rap legends such as Jay-Z, Eminem and Tupac. It is no surprise to see him high on our list of best-selling artists and most streamed artist of all time.

Drake will surely continue to climb the ranks of our list. The real question is whether it will be thanks to his musical talents or his business acumen. He owns his own record label (OVO Sound), his own fashion brand (October’s Very Own), has done countless brand partnerships and even launched a whiskey called Virginia Black. He is also the global ambassador of the NBA team of his hometown, the Toronto Raptors.

To learn more about how Drake amassed his extraordinary net worth, read this in-depth article!

Drake started his public life as an actor in the iconic Canadian teen TV show “Degrassi”, thanks to the dad of one of his classmates who was an acting agent. His character, Jimmy Brooks, can be seen rapping in one the episodes of the show.

#4 – Kanye West

Kanye is a billionaire no more! We all know Kanye, he got his break with Jay-Z’s label, creating instrumentals for their albums. He was sought after by the most successful rappers for years for his beats. Ultimately he was allowed to release his own record which was a huge success, launching his career as an all-time top emcee.

Like others, he’s started his own record label GOOD Music. He’s won 21 Grammys so far, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time. His clothing line Yeezy has released shoes and other merchandise with companies such as Nike and Louis Vuitton. He’s broken into acting, architecture, politics, design, and many other industries.

There is controversy about his net worth. At the highs, Bloomberg estimated his net worth at $6.6 Billion, thanks to a whopping $4.7 Billion valuation of his brand Yeezy following mega deals with clothing companies Gap and Adidas. However, Gap recently announced they would “wind down” the Yeezy partnership, while Adidas ended abruptly their collaboration. The brand condemned the antisemitic statements made by the rapper.

Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.0 Billion in September 2022 but they have also reduced their estimate to $400 million following the drop of the Adidas partnership.

Kanye married Kim Kardashian, perhaps the largest reality TV show star of all time. He was in a car wreck and broke his jaw. The song “Through the Wire” is about this event and features slurred vocals, recorded while his jaw was wired shut.

#3 – Dr. Dre

Net Worth: $500 Million

Change: -$300M & ↓1 – Andre Young makes a fortune from lots of income streams, from countless royalties, launching proteges like Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Eminem, and 50 Cent. His focus on creating other superstars has limited his personal time, leading to only two of his own album releases. This effort has also led him to be one of the top 10 best producers in the game.

His early work with N.W.A., Death Row Records, and then his own label Aftermath Entertainment led to enough income and notoriety to start several other ventures into the film industry, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. His recent divorce (which reportedly cost him more than $100m) is partly responsible for his drop on our list. You can read more on this in our detailed post about Dr. Dre’s net worth.

Dr. Dre built up the company Beats By Dre, easily the world’s best headphones in terms of sales and marketing, so much so that Apple purchased the company in 2014 for a total of $3 billion, launching Dre way this list, almost to the top…

#2 – Diddy

Sean “Puffy” Combs is a media mogul. His label Bad Boy Entertainment launched the east coast king The Notorious B.I.G. and other artists like Mase. He’s not only one of the richest rappers but one of the top 10 richest musicians in the world.

He’s had major success with his Sean John clothing company and line of perfumes. His reality TV show Making the Band was one of MTV’s greatest shows. He’s appeared in a handful of movies, and invested in countless businesses, including being the brand ambassador for Ciroc. His music has earned him countless awards, including 12 Grammys.

Puff Daddy, like many of the wealthiest people on the planet (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Kanye West), is a college dropout. He quit his business major, and that didn’t stop him from one of the top 40 entrepreneurs under the age of 40 in 2002, according to Forbes.

#1 – Jay-Z

Sean Carter has scored over 22 Grammys and sold over 100 million records. But that’s just a fraction of the income he gets from his label Roc-A-Fella Records and his clothing line Rocawear. He also invests in several projects, like the music streaming service Tidal and his company Roc Nation Sports, in which he’s a licensed sports agent.

He’s the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He holds the record for the most #1 albums on the Billboard 200, which is currently 14 albums. He’s now investing in smartphone apps and TV and films.

Jay-Z was once president of Def Jam Recordings. He married Beyonce, and their combined wealth was not enough to outbid Notch, the creator of Minecraft, for a Beverly Hills mansion. He’s part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team.

Who’s Dropped Out of the Top 10?

Not every one that reaches the status of top 10 richest rappers in the world manages to stay there. Earning your money is one game, keeping it is another. Here is a list of our fallen friends who either tanked their net worth or were bumped off by new artists.

Snoop Dogg

Net Worth: $150 MILLION

Change: +$15M & ↓1 – Snoop Doggy Dog, also known as Calvin Broadus, is another protege of Dr. Dre. After a long stint on Death Row Records, he left that label to join Master P’s No Limit Records. Jumping to several other labels after that never slowed him down, producing 16 solo albums and a handful of collaborative efforts.

He later became an investor in various businesses related to the sticky icky. He even has a smartphone app called Snoopify that generates $30,000 in weekly sales! He’s also been in countless Hollywood films, television shows, and even video games.

Calvin has had 17 Grammy nominations, been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He released his first gospel album in 2018 called Bible of Love. In 2012, Snoop Dogg became Snoop Lion for a reggae album and documentary. In 1993, Snoop was acquitted of a very heinous crime in a prolonged and high profile case.

Birdman

Net Worth: $100 Million

Change: -$63M & ↓6 – Edging out Lil Wayne (partially because he earns a portion of Birdman Jr.’s old recordings) is Bryan Williams, also known as Birdman. He’s a co-founder of Cash Money Records, a member of Big Tymers, and has released four solo albums.

He discovered Lil Wayne at the age of 9. Like Master P’s No Limit Records, Cash Money Records owned the game for years on end, netting Williams seemingly endless revenue streams. He continues to work with upcoming artists, bringing them attention and keeping himself relevant.

Like 50 Cent, Birdman has had endless beefs and legal issues, but has evaded going bankrupt. He started an oil and gas exploration company with his brother and co-founder of Cash Money Records that never got off the ground, despite Bryan getting a tattoo of an oil pump on the side of his head (which has been covered with another tattoo since).

50 Cent

Net Worth: $40 Million

Change: -$120M – After being discovered by Eminem, Curtis Jackson’s first studio album was a smashing success thanks in part by Dr. Dre’s instrumentals. This record spawned a semi-biographical movie of the same title, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. This led to future Hollywood roles.

Like others, he soon founded his own label, G-Unit Records, and released group projects under the name G-Unit. He is now working on his 6th album, with the previous ones earning him countless music awards.

He has since become quite the entrepreneur and investor, including mining operations, flavored water, boxing promotion, and more. In 2015, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after several bad investments, lawsuits, and runaway expenses destroyed his net worth.

Who Will Claim a Richest Rapper Spot Next?

Excluding anyone that has fallen off the top 10 list, who else has a chance to become one of the top 10 wealthiest rappers in the world? Here’s the closest tycoons thus far:

• Timbaland at $85 million in part due to being a go-to producer for beats, launching artists like Missy Elliot, Bubba Sparxxx, and Aaliyah. His Mosley Music Group includes artists like Nelly Furtado.
• Will.i.am at $70 million thanks to his countless production credits, success with the Black Eyed Peas, and acting and fashion activities.
• Pitbull at $100 million due to his pop hits, product endorsements with Kodak, advertising deals with Walmart, and work with FIFA.
• Nicki Minaj at $100 million for quickly becoming one of the best-selling artists of all time. She’s broken into voice acting and film and received product endorsement deals with MAC cosmetics, Casio, and more.
• LL Cool J at $120 million, who many consider the G.O.A.T. Despite his lack of Grammys, he owned the 90s and broke into film and TV in ways others have struggled.
• Sweat Beatz at $150 million when combined with his wife and superstar singer Alicia Keys.
• Travis Scott at $65 million thanks to his music sale and concerts while his partner Kylie Jenner is a billionaire. More details on his net worth in this post.

It’s obvious that to hit this list, you need to either be a complete musical monster like Eminem, or venture into tons of other businesses and investments. Plan accordingly! When one of you reaches the list, remember us little guys.