Instant Alert: Dr. Dre earned $620 million last year, but this year Diddy, Jay Z, and Drake all surpassed him

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   Dr. Dre earned $620 million last year, but this year Diddy, Jay Z, and Drake all surpassed him by Travis Lyles on Sep 27, 2015, 10:25 AM Advertisement Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings roundup is here. The annual list ranks hip-hop stars by earnings in a one-year period, and this year there are quite a few surprises. Last year, Dr. Dre made the most money in hip-hop after Apple purchased his company, Beats Electronics, for $3 billion. A year later, Dre has slid into fourth place behind Diddy, Jay Z, and Drake. According to Forbes, after coming off the big $620 million personal payday from Apple, Dre has seen his checks shrink a bit, essentially reducing his cash flow. Dre is still massively rich, regardless. In addition to his work with Apple, Dre served as an executive producer on the N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton" (which has netted about $160 million in the US to date) and released an album that coincided with the film. Those numbers, however, weren't factored into the current rankings. With Dre's fall, Diddy moved into the first spot, even though he rarely performs or makes music anymore. He's all about business, and it's paying off. Jay Z — to the surprise of no one — moved up a spot as well, to No. 2. The rap mogul simply knows how to make money. Leading the charge for Jay is his Roc Nation music label. Roc Nation also has a sports division that contributes to Jay Z's earnings. Though Jay Z's newest business — the music-streaming service Tidal — has been hammered by rumors of an imminent demise, it has remained afloat thus far. The biggest surprise perhaps was rapper Drake coming in at No. 3, the highest ranking he has achieved in his young career. Drake was fourth last year, but after selling over a million copies of his "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" album released in February, the "Trophies" rapper moved into the upper echelon. Check out the entire list below, complete with how much each artist made over the past year. SEE ALSO: The surprise album that Drake just released was never supposed to happen Diddy landed in the No. 1 spot, raking in $60 million. Jay Z was ranked No. 2. The hip-hop legend earned $56 million. Drake climbed to No. 3. The Toronto native pulled in $39.5 million over the past year. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to: nguyenvu1187.love5@blogger.com   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011