Diddy, Kanye West and Jay-Z top Forbes Richest Rappers list of 2012 (Video)

Find out which rapper is number one on the list

As a Hip-Hop enthusiast I admired everything about the rappers that appeared on MTV and how they boasted with the cars, diamonds, bling and money that lit up their videos. However, as I grew up I got more cynical and started to ponder how much of that wealth was actually theirs. Forbes Richest Rappers list of 2012 let me know that some rappers can afford all the things in their videos ten times over and then some.

Californias own Dr. Dre tops the list earning $110 million despite not releasing a studio album since 1999. However, the majority of his earnings came from his Beats by Dre headphones. Forbes reported that the idea to make the headphones came to Dre six years ago.

Dr. Dre was with Interscope Records boss Jimmy Iovine and expressed his idea to come out with a shoe line. Iovine replied, [Forget] sneakers! Lets sell speakers!

Following Dr. Dre in second place is Diddy who earned most of his $45 million from his alcohol brand Ciroc. The release of Watch the Throne and the tour that followed certainly helped Jay-Z (3rd) and his buddy Kanye West (4th) earn $38 million and $35 million respectively.

Lil Wayne (5th) earned $27million with the help of his album The Carter IV. Following him is his mentee Drake (6th), his partner Birdman (7th) and his other mentee Nicki Minaj (8th). Eminem (9th) and Ludacris (10th) finish the top half of the list.

You can see the rest of the entire list of 20 rappers at Complex magazine online.

Below you can see Forbes staff member Zack OMalley Greenberg explain where the top five earners got their revenue from.