August 19, 2008 19:05

50 Cent tops Forbes hip-hop rich list

He beats Jay-Z and Diddy in money stakes

50 Cent has topped Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings 2008 list, having earned more this past year than his fellow urban moguls.

50, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, raked in $150 million last year, while Jay-Z earned $82 million. Part of Jackson’s enormous profit came from selling his stake in VitaminWater to Coca-Cola as part of a $4.1 billion deal.

He also profits from his G-Unit clothing line and record label, and is currently working on a mining partnership with South African billionaire Partrice Motsepe.

Meanwhile, P Diddy was third on the list for the third year running, earning $35 million. Kanye West was at number four, with super producer Timbaland coming in at five.

The artists who featured on the list for the first time are Common and Akon who tied with Eminem for 12th position and Lil' Wayne, who tied with T.I. for the 11th spot.

Outkast, Chamillionaire and The Game all tied for 14th on the list.

The list looks like this:

1. 50 Cent ($150 million)
2. Jay-Z ($82 million)
3. Diddy ($35 million)
4. Kanye West ($30 million)
5. Timbaland ($22 million)
6. Pharrell ($20 million)
7. Swizz Beats ($17 million)
8. Snoop Dogg ($16 million)
9. Dr. Dre ($15 million)
10. Ludacris ($14 million)
11. T.I. ($13 million)
11. Lil Wayne ($13 million)
12. Eminem ($12 million)
12. Common ($12 million)
12. Akon ($12 million)
13. Jermaine Dupri ($11 million)
13. Lil’ Jon ($11 million)
14. OutKast ($10 million)
14. Chamillionaire ($10 million)
14. The Game ($10 million)

--By our New York staff.
[url="/about"]Find out more about NME.[/url]