Jay-Z Tops Hip-Hop Billionaires List, Diddy Surges, as Kanye West Falls

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Sean Combs

With Kanye West's self-immolation nearly complete, as he continues to burn down his music and fashion empires with his heated and hate-filled rhetoric, another has risen to replace him on the throne of hip-hop's billionaires.

Jay-Z, an idol, mentor, and sometimes partner-in-rhyme with West—who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021—now holds the number one spot thanks to his $1.5 billion fortune.

The news comes courtesy of reporting from former Forbes entertainment editor Zack O’Malley Greenburg. Currently covering the business of music at Substack, Greenburg dove deep into the numbers to find Ye's wealth-heir apparent after the rapper lost a reported $2 billion in net worth.

"All in all, the genre’s top five acts are now worth a combined $3.8 billion," Greenburg, who published his last hip-hop wealth list for Forbes in 2019, wrote. "Since then, the world has changed quite a bit, but the five richest artists’ combined net worth has jumped 20% from a pre-pandemic total of $3.17 billion."

Hailed as the first hip-hop billionaire in 2019, Jay-Z overtook his former protégé with a diverse and growing portfolio that includes investments in everything from real estate to art and spirits.

Fellow mononymous artist, Diddy, another former collaborator surged into second place on the list with a $1 billion net worth, courtesy of lucrative deals with Cîroc, DeLeón Tequila and the Revolt media network, among others.

Following antisemitic comments and other erratic behavior that led to the end of lucrative deals with a slew of companies, including his massive partnership with Adidas — distributor of his Yeezy shoes — Ye fell to third on the list with $500 million.

Gilbert “Berner” Milam ($410 million), and Dr. Dre ($400 million) rounded out the top-five earners in hip-hop. Milam, a Bay Area rapper, secured his spot on the strength of his cannabis empire, Cookies. The company sells 70 strains of weed and 2,000 different marijuana-related products around the globe.

Dre, who once proclaimed himself the first billionaire in hip-hop following the sale of his Beats headphone empire to Apple, was No. 5 on the list. The producer, whose fortune peaked at $800 million, has taken hits to his wealth in recent years thanks to a divorce and some expensive investments, including the purchase of Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s Los Angeles mansion for $40 million.

For more information on Greenburg’s methodology, click here.

Salt-N-Pepa Headed to Hollywood Walk of Fame

Salt-N-Pepa to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Nov. 4.

The first ladies of rap are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced on Tuesday that Salt-N-Pepa will receive the Walk's 2,738th star on Friday, Nov. 4.

"This upcoming star ceremony honoring Hip-Hop pioneers Salt-N-Pepa will honor the amazing 80s music we all love and so many grew up with," Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez said in a statement.

She added that the hip-hop duo would be in good company:

"We’re placing these ladies of Hip Hop royalty adjacent to Amoeba Music and right next to the Walk of Fame star of another Queen of Hip Hop, Missy Elliott!"

👑👑🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 What a Blessing to be beside Salt & Pepa who inspired me to Rap! My sisters for over 2 Decades! & they took a lot of Criticism coming in this game to make the female emcees after them walk through the door a lot easier💜 Thank you S&P RESPECT👑 https://t.co/mqdbMUpnnA

— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) October 26, 2022

Comprised of Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton, Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 debut album "Hot, Cool & Vicious" sold over one million copies.

The lead single "Push it" topped the charts in three countries and helped the group become the first female rap act to achieve both gold and platinum status.

Salt-N-Pepa enjoyed continued success in the following decades, selling over 15 million albums, racking up three No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart and placing five albums on the Billboard 200.

In 1995, Salt-N-Pepa won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The victory was the first for a women’s rap group in the category.

The group responded to the announcement on Instagram with a post of it captioned, "We are honored and excited!"

Their soon-to-be neighbor on the Walk of Fame was among the first to congratulate them on the accomplishment.

"What a blessing to be beside Salt-N-Pepa, who inspired me to rap,” Elliott tweeted. “My sisters for over [two] decades [and] they took a lot of criticism coming in this game to make the female emcees after them walk through the door a lot easier. Thank you, S&P. RESPECT.”

Salt-N-Pepa replied, "Our stars being beside each other makes it all the more special. Your sisterhood and friendship is such a blessing. Thank you."

Our stars being beside each other makes it all the more special. Your sisterhood and friendship is such a blessing. Thank you @MissyElliott 🇯🇲❤️ https://t.co/BeJaPkbpI3

— Salt N Pepa (@TheSaltNPepa) October 26, 2022

The ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. (PT). Fellow rap legends Mc Lyte and Roxanne Chante will be on-hand as guest speakers. Those unable to attend the event in person can stream it for free at walkoffame.com.

Adidas Ends Partnership With Kanye West

Kanye West (right) with Adidas CMO Eric Liedtke

The other shoe finally dropped for Kanye West.

Following weeks of inaction from Adidas in the face of his antisemitic remarks and other erratic behavior, including making its execs watch a porn video while he chided them for stealing his designs, the shoe company ended its relationship with the entrepreneur on Tuesday morning.

Sarah Camhi, director of Trade Marketing at Adidas, calls out her company’s silence over Kanye West’s recent comments: pic.twitter.com/JtTwi6zPxn

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 25, 2022

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech," the company said in a statement. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness."

The company said the decision came after a thorough review of its relationship with the fashion mogul that began in 2013 when it signed his Yeezy brand away from Nike.

I'm a little shocked that @adidas has still made no statement denouncing hate and anti-semitism, let alone firing @kanyewest 's ass. Adidas seems more than happy to accept being branding a hate supporting company. https://t.co/1mdVGbaJC3

— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) October 24, 2022

Heralded at the time by Adidas as "the most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand," the dissolution of the deal will negatively impact its income by $246 million in the short term.

Adidas will terminate the production of Yeezy-branded products immediately and end all payments to West and his companies. The company — which West accused of stealing his designs in recent weeks — also claims sole ownership of all design rights to existing products and previous and new colorways under the partnership.

The move makes Adidas just the latest in a long list of partners who have dropped the billionaire in the wake of massive public pressure.

West talent agency CAA confirmed he was no longer a client on Monday. MRC Entertainment studios shelved a documentary about the rapper-turned-fashion mogul. Fashion house Balenciaga and JPMorgan Chase had cut ties with him the previous week.