Hip-hop might be the genre that puts the most emphasis on dollars earned but we'd be kidding ourselves if big acts from every scene had their eyes on their wallets. And so do we as fans...just Google an act and see "net worth" doesn't come up as a popular search term. Forbes released its annual list of the Top 30 highest earning musicians from the previous year and you probably guessed who took the top spot: Dr. Dre.
The producer has been in the headlines plenty this year but for new music: His Beats Audio company just sold to Apple and, despite his claims that he's the first hip-hop billionaire, Dre only brought a measly $620 million during 2014. We're being sarcastic of course: It's the highest yearly income brought home by any musician in the history of the Forbes rankings.
The gap between himself and the no. 2 earner, Beyoncé, is pretty epic as well. She didn't too badly, hauling in $115 million in her biggest year to date. That's thanks to touring with husband Jay Z and her new album of course, but don't discount deals with Pepsi, H&M and more.
One more act managed to crack $100 million: The Eagles. Although the group will have to split the sum between themselves, that doesn't seem too bad when the starting sum is exactly $100 mill.
The next two spots, to finish off the Top 5, go to a pair of classic New Jersey acts. Bon Jovi came in just ahead of Bruce Springsteen, the former earning $82 million compared to $81 million.
Justin Bieber has been in the headlines for less pleasant reasons as Dre, but it hasn't hurt his paychecks. The pop star made $80 million during 2014 (no. 6). One Direction keeps up the trend of youth being served, as the group took the no. 7 spot with $75 million in earnings. They trump another British act, Paul McCartney, who brought in $71 million this year.
Calvin Harris topped the EDM list from Forbes, and it was enough to crack the Top 10 overall, with $66 million earned. Rounding off the list at no. 10 was a man who's seen his music sales slip but his business moves pay off, as Toby Keith earned $65 million last year.
Check out the full Top 30 here.
