One of the top 10 richest musicians in the world is hip-hop artist Jay-Z. Since 1996, he's sold over 50 million records worldwide and parlayed his musical success into lucrative businesses in the realms of fashion, cuisine and advertising.When it comes to the size of his fortune, however, Jay-Z is number two among fellow hip-hop artists. The top spot goes to Sean " Diddy" Combs, who tops the 2011
. accounting of rap's richest artists by net worth.Fueled by his interests in Sean John clothing, his Bad Boy Worldwide record label, and most significantly, his Diageo joint-venture vodka brand Ciroc, Diddy has amassed a fortune of $475 million. Jay-Z ranks a close second, with $450 million.Producer/rapper Dr. Dre ranks third with $125 million, fueled by past earnings generated from his own career and by helping to launch those of Snoop Dogg and Eminem.Curtis " 50 Cent" Jackson, a onetime Dr. Dre protege who reaped a nine-figure payday from the sale of Vitamin Water to Coca-Cola, also makes the top ten list of the world's richest musicians.Ranking lists are calculated by valuing current holdings, looking at past earnings, leafing through financial documents and talking to a bevy of analysts, attorneys, managers and other industry players to find the nitty-gritty details.Other musicians in the top ten highest earning category are:
The Rolling Stones
U2
Bruce Springsteen
Paul McCartney
Elton John
The Eagles
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Neil Diamond
Celine Dion
Justin Beiber
Lady Gaga
Madonna
There is no consensus on who is the richest musician in the world because not every organization ranks income in the same way. An artist like Jay-Z, for example, may be far richer than The Rolling Stones, but not all of Jay-Z's income is derived from his music. The Rolling Stones are considered by many to be the highest paid musicians in the world, but not the richest.http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/53/celebrity-09_The-Celebrity-100_EarningsPrevYear.htmlhttp://www.ranker.com/list/all-the-richest-musicians-in-the-world/worlds-richest-people-listsMore reference links: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/53/celebrity-09_The-Celebrity-100_EarningsPrevYear.html http://www.ranker.com/list/all-the-richest-musicians-in-the-world/worlds-richest-people-lists
