Despite losing that much hyped chart battle with Kanye West last year, 50 Cent is still doing rather well thank you very much. Or at least we assume he is given he has just overtaken Jay-Z has the highest earning hip hop star, earning $150 million in the last twelve months, almost twice the earnings of Jay-Z in the same period.
That said, much of the cash came from the deal which saw him sell his stake in drinks company Glacéau to Coca-Cola. In addition to this, Fiddy owns a clothing line, a record label, earns royalties from films and videogames, has just entered an agreement with South African billionare Partrice Motsepe which will see him take an interest in platinum mining in the country and, of course, he records the odd album.
Third on the list was P Diddy, with Kanye West coming in fourth and Timbaland taking fifth place, although none came anywhere close to the earnings of 50 Cent.
Forbes 'Hip-Hop's Cash Kings' 2008:
1. 50 Cent, $150 million
2. Jay-Z, $82 million
3. P. Diddy, $35 million
4. Kanye West, $30 million
5. Timbaland, $22 million
6. Pharrell Williams, $20 million
7. Swizz Beats, $17 million
8. Snoop Dogg, $16 million
9. Dr Dre, $15 million
10. Ludacris, $14 million