Forbes Hip Hop List: Jay-Z Tops Cash Kings List

Forbes magazine, king of lists involving the wealth of the world’s richest, released their annual Hip Hop Cash Kings list today highlighting hip hop’s top 20 earners. Leading all hip hop moguls, Brooklyn’s Jay-Z, earning an estimated $63 million. Jay-Z also topped last year’s list, pulling in $35 million.

Other hip hop heavyweights with New York ties made the list, including Diddy (2nd, $30 million), Swizz Beatz (12th, $9 million) and 50 Cent (14th, $8 million). Forbes credits artists who have diversified their monetary holdings “beyond musical recordings” for the rap stars ability to weather rough economic times, both overall and in the music business specifically.

On a side note, as we originally exclusively reported back in June, Swizz Beatz continues to battle with debts, including federal IRS liens totaling more than $650,000.

Mo’ money, mo’ problems, we suppose.

Overall, the top 20 earned about the same as the previous year, though that list’s total income was down sharply from 2008.

Check out the entire top 20 list on Forbes’ website, and try not to get too jealous.

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