With a whopping $110 million in pretax earnings, Dr. Dre is this year’s top-earning musician—thanks largely to his Beats headphone line. He leads a pack of pop stars, rock icons, rap moguls and country crooners, many of whom bank the bulk of their bucks outside the recording studio. Totals are calculated from May 2011 through May 2012.
Other Hip-Hop friendly entertainers that made the list include Rihanna at #12 with $53 million earned, Diddy at #15 with $45 million earned and Beyonce and Jay-Z #18 and #20 with $40 million and $38 million earned, respectively. Kanye West also was at in the Top 25 at at #22 with $35 million earned.
Dr. Dre stays on a Forbes list. Back in August of this year, the Aftermath Records founder placed fifth on the mag’s Highest Paid Celebrities list. In August, Dre and Jimmy Iovine unveiled new Beats By Dre products including a portable speaker called the “Beats Pill” and “Executive” headphones.
