It is that time again. Forbes has released their Top 100 Lists and many of our favorites in entertainment made the line up this year. Did your favorites make it?
R&B maven Beyonce Knowles has kept the world talking with appearances in hit movies, her marriage to Hip-hop Royalty Jay-Z and has held the top spot amongst her peers on the Billboard charts. Now she tops the Forbes Top 100 Celebrity List as the richest musician with earnings since last June of $87 Million and this is how she did it. Beyonce is perpetually on tour and grossed $86 Million from her last tour alone. She is also building her own fashion line, House of Dereon and has recurring television ads with L’Oreal and other mega-brands. Whether we want to or not, we will be hearing from this multi-hyphenate for a long time to come.
Jay-Z, Hip-hop impresario and one of the smartest businesspersons makes #15 on the Forbes Top 100 Celebrity List. Jay-Z enjoys returns from Broadway ventures, 40/40 Nightclubs, $1 Million for the Blueprint 3 tour and revenue from being an owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Jay-Z has earned $64 Million this past year. Combining the earnings with that of his wife Beyonce brings them combined earnings of $151 Million dollars. Now that’s BANK!
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Where is the love? It’s in their pockets. The Hip-Hop/Pop clan the Black Eyed Peas entered the mainstream in 2003 with the addition of Fergie and some crossover appeal on their album Elephunk. The mega-group has since won six Grammys and inked endorsement deals with Apple, Honda, Target and Bacardi. Touring worldwide and making up to $800,000 a night, B.E.P. has amassed a fortune of $48 Million in earnings since last year and are #16 on Forbes Top 100 Celebrity List.
Having earned $30 Million in revenue since last year, Sean “Diddy” Combs ranks #68 on Forbes’ Top Celebrity List. His rank on the list is a result of his work as a Hip-Hop artist, record producer, fashion designer, and dancer. Diddy, the CEO of Bad Boy records, has had concurrent reality show series on MTV & VH1, sells clothing and cologne through his Sean John label, owns restaurants, has his own Ciroq vodka brand, and has ventured into the world of acting this year in Get Him To The Greek. It’s clear that Sean Combs has come to play and is a major player in Hip-Hop lore.
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Last but not least on our list, Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. b.k.a Lil’ Wayne, makes his first foray onto the Top 100 Celebrity list. Being in the clink since March has had no negative effect on Lil’ Wayne’s ability to stack cheddar. Wayne’s last tour collected $500,000+ per show in the box office and his Rock-infused album Rebirth earned him $20 Million since last June. Upon his release Lil’ Wayne is slated to release a new album and working with breakout artists like Nicki Minaj and Drake, he has set the foundation to be Forbes’ fodder many more lists in the future.
These were the top 5 R&B/Hip-Hop musicians on the Forbes’ Top 100 Celebrity List. Want to see if your favorite celeb made the lis
