Dr Dre, Nicki Minaj And Eminem On Forbes' Cash Kings 2012 List

6 September 2012, 12:41

The rapper, who has not released an album for over a decade, dominated the top ten earners countdown.

Dr Dre has been named the biggest earning star in hip-hop, ahead of the likes of Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z.

The rapper, who has not released an album since 1999's '2001', beat his long-time collaborator and friend Eminem to number one with earnings of $110 million before tax.

Dre's earnings over the last 12 months have come largely from his range of headphones, Beats Electronics. A percentage of the company was sold to HTC for $309 million last year.

Diddy was second in the list with earnings of $45 million while Jay-Z was just behind with before tax earnings of $38 million.

Nicki Minaj came eighth with earnings of $15.5 million over the last 12 months:

Nicki Minaj was in eighth place with $15.5 million and Eminem was ninth with earnings of $15 million. The Forbes countdown takes into account artists' record sales as well as their own businesses and endorsements.

The Forbes Top Ten Hip-Hop Earners 2012 are:

1. Dr. Dre - $110m (£70m)
2. Diddy - $45m (£28m)
3. Jay-Z - $38m (£24m)
4. Kanye West - $35m (£22m)
5. Lil Wayne - $27m (£17m)
6. Drake - $20.5m (£13m)
7. Birdman - $20m (£12.5m)
8. Nicki Minaj - $15.5m (£10m)
9. Eminem - $15m (£9.5m)
10. Ludacris - $12m (£7.5m)