Last year Forbes magazine, chroniclers of all things money and list related, unveiled a new 'street cred worthy' list where they analyzed the biggest money ballers in the hip hop world. And after coming out of retirement, marrying Beyonce, and signing a new concert and album deal, Jay-Z was the top dog on the list.
But listen up, after a little shake-up in the standings this year, none other than rival 50 Cent is the new king.
According to the Forbes article, 50 made $150 million over the past 12 months, which was almost double what Jay-Z could pull in. That's a major victory, right there. He officially got rich, and didn't even have to 'die tryin'.
Besides major film, video game, and TV deals revolving around his life's story, 50 Cent earned some serious cash from his brilliant businessman maneuver of investing in and endorsing Vitamin Water. After Coca-Cola bought out Vitamin Water's makers, 50 banked $100 million after taxes on the $4.1 billion total deal.
Although unsubstantiated, I personally believe 50 Cent's epic smackdown on Taco Bell had a major effect on the standings. When you fight back against the Taco Bell CEO, people notice.
Here's the rest of the top 10 on the Forbes list:
#2. Jay-Z - $82 Million
#3. Diddy - $35 Million
#4. Kanye - $30 Million
#5. Timbaland - $22 Million
#6. Pharrell - $20 Million
#7. Swizz Beatz - $17 Million
#8. Snoop Dogg- $16 Million
#9. Dr. Dre - $15 Million
#10. Ludacris - $14 Million
WTF, no Lil Wayne in the Top 10?! He's tied for #11 with TI, but still - that's gonna hurt his candidacy.
Forbes: Hip Hop's Cash Kings 2008, August 18, 2008 via BusinessSheet
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