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Forbes Hip Hop “Cash Kings” list 2010

1. Jay-Z – $37 Million
2. Diddy – $35 Million
3. Kanye West – $16 Million
4. Lil Wayne and Birdman – $15 Million
6. Eminem, Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre – $14 Million
9. Akon – $13 Million
10. Ludacris – $12 Million
11. Wiz Khalifa & Drake – $11 Million
13. Pharrrell – $10 Million
14. Timbaland – $7 Million
15. Swizz Beatz & Nicki Minaj – $6.5 Million
17. Rick Ross, Pitbull & 50 Cent – $6 Million
20. T-Pain & B.o.B – $5 Million

How they came up with the numbers. Touring was one of the many revenue streams we looked at to come up with the Cash Kings list, which charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap. The estimates also include income from record sales, digital downloads, films, merchandise sales, endorsements, books and other 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 RIAA and individual record labels, as well as interviews with numerous lawyers, media buyers, managers and many of the artists themselves.