1. Kanye West
Net Worth: $3,200,000,000
Kanye Omari West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta but raised in Chicago. He started his career as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s but later went on to pursue his dream of becoming a rapper. His debut album, The College Dropout (2004) was a big success both critically as well as commercially and was followed by the launch of his record label GOOD Music. A one-time protégé of Jay-Z, West is known for his Sunday Service, an invitation-only get-together held in Southern California that’s reported frequently by the likes of Courtney Love and Tyler, the Creator. West is at the top of this list not because of his music but rather his collaboration with the German sportswear brand, Adidas and his fashion brand, Yeezy. Yeezy Boost is considered one of the most influential sneaker brands in the world. According to Forbes, Kanye’s current net worth estimate is a whopping 10-digit $3.2 billion.
2. Jay Z
Net worth: $1,000,000,000
Born in 1969 within the rough Marcy Projects of Brooklyn, Sean Carter better known as Jay-Z was raised by his mother. Well-known as Jazzy in his neighborhood, he soon abbreviated his moniker to Jay-Z and did all he could to earn recognition as a rapper. For a short time, he ran around with rapper Jaz-O AKA Big Jaz. From Jaz, he learned the way to navigate the rap industry and what moves to make. Jay-Z subsequently took an unconventional decision to begin his label instead of signing with a prominent one like Jazz had done. Hence, alongside friends Damon Dash and Kareem " Biggs" Burke, he created the Roc-a-Fella Records. Jay-Z has won over 22 Grammys and sold over 100 million records. But that’s just a snippet of the income he gets from his label Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear, his clothing line. His other investments include the music streaming service Tidal and his company Roc Nation Sports, in which he’s a licensed sports agent. He’s the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also holds the record for the most #1 album on the Billboard 200, which is currently 14 albums.
3. P. Diddy
Net worth: $885,000,000
P. Diddy was born Sean John Combs on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, NY but was raised in Mount Vernon by his mother, Janice Smalls, a model and teacher’s assistant. Combs started his career at Uptown Records where he was fundamental in launching the careers of Jodeci and Mary Blige. In 1993, he started his own record label, Bad Boy Records which produced music for talents like Mariah Carey, Method Man, Boyz II Men, Lil’ Kim, and more.
