I don’t know about some of these numbers, but according to Forbes methodology:
The Hip-Hop Cash Kings charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap. The estimates include income from record sales, touring, digital downloads, films, merchandise sales, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures; management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted. Earnings are calculated for the period from May 2010 to May 2011 and based on data from Pollstar, Nielsen SoundScan, the Recording Industry Association of America, and individual record labels, as well as interviews with numerous lawyers, media buyers, managers and many of the artists themselves.
Forbes Cash Kings 2011: Hip-Hop’s Top 20 Earners
1. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, $37 million
2. Sean “Diddy” Combs, $35 million
3. Kanye West, $16 million
4. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter, $15 million (tie)
4. Bryan “Birdman” Williams, $15 million (tie)
6. Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, $14 million (tie)
6. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, $14 million (tie)
6. Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, $14 million (tie)
9. Aliuane “Akon” Thiam, $13 million
10. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, $12 million
11. Cameron “Wiz Khalifa” Thomaz, $11 million (tie)
11. Aubrey “Drake” Graham, $11 million (tie)
13. Pharrell Williams, $10 million
14. Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley, $7 million
15. Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, $6.5 million (tie)
15. Onika “Nicki Minaj” Maraj, $6.5 million (tie)
17. William “Rick Ross” Roberts, $6 million (tie)
17. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, $6 million (tie)
17. Armando “Pitbull” Perez, $6 million (tie)
20. Faheem “T-Pain” Najm, $5 million (tie)
20. Bobby “B.o.B” Simmons, Jr., $5 million (tie)
50 Cent only 6 mill? Damn he must be sleeping.