Jay Z and Diddy top Forbes' list of highest-earning hip-hop stars... while Kanye West lags behind 

By Adam S. Levy For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:37 EST, 7 September 2016 | Updated: 14:43 EST, 7 September 2016

Forbes released its annual list of the top 20 earning stars in hip-hop on Wednesday.

Rap moguls Jay Z, 45, and Diddy, 46, landed on top.

But The Life Of Pablo hit maker Kanye West, 39, isn't exactly keeping up with his cash-drenched colleagues. 

King of the hill: Diddy topped Forbes' just-released list of hip-hop's top earners for the fourth time in five years after taking in $62 in a 12-month span

King of the hill: Diddy topped Forbes' just-released list of hip-hop's top earners for the fourth time in five years after taking in $62 in a 12-month span

Prosperity: Blue Ivy's college education fund should be good, and then some, after a year that saw Jay Z, seen here at an MTV VMAs after-party last month, rake in $53.5 million

Prosperity: Blue Ivy's college education fund should be good, and then some, after a year that saw Jay Z, seen here at an MTV VMAs after-party last month, rake in $53.5 million

Diddy, for the second year in a row, claimed the highest spot on the cash countdown, with $62 million thanks to his Ciroc vodka enterprise and a host of other businesses he has ownership in.

The music mogul, who's been atop the list four of the past five years, has even worked a reference about it on one of his tracks, rapping in 2014's Big Homie, 'The only one that’s topping Forbes, I’m gettin’ lonely.'

Coming in second was Jay Z, who brought home a huge slab of bacon - $53.5 million, to be exact - for wife Beyonce and daughter Blue Ivy. The staggering sum came primarily from his Roc Nation entertainment company, with extras like his champagne and cognac businesses adding to his bottom line.

Say what?: Kanye West, seen here Tuesday in NYC, did not make the top 10 despite his massive presence in pop culture

Say what?: Kanye West, seen here Tuesday in NYC, did not make the top 10 despite his massive presence in pop culture

And in a case of the rich getting richer, Dr Dre - who made $620 million in 2014 after Apple purchased his Beats By Dre headphones company, marking the only year Diddy did not rule the financial roost. - finished third. 

The Still D.R.E. rapper pocketed a cool $41 million over the past year, fueled by ongoing profits from his remaining stake in the high-end headphones company, in addition to profits from the wildly-successful film, Straight Outta Compton.

Rounding out the top ten were Drake with $38.5 million; Wiz Khalifa at $24 million; Nicki Minaj, the only female to make the list, with $20.5 million; Pitbull with $20 million, Pharrell Williams with $19.5 million, Kendrick Lamar at $18.5 million and Birdman with $18 million.

The next episode: Dr Dre's reinvention as a headphones mogul added $620 million to his bank account two years ago

The next episode: Dr Dre's reinvention as a headphones mogul added $620 million to his bank account two years ago

Started from the bottom: Canadian rapper Drake, seen here in Las Vegas, continues to rule the rap roost
High style: Wiz was impeccably put together at the Met Gala in May

Princes of rap: Drake and Wiz Khalifa were no slouches, clocking into the third and fourth positions, respectively, on the Forbes list

Girl power: Nicki Minaj finished in the fifth spot, marking the only female artist in the top 20

Girl power: Nicki Minaj finished in the fifth spot, marking the only female artist in the top 20

West missed the top 10 altogether, slipping into 11th place overall with $17.5 million. The Chicago native - who released his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo, in February - also raked in the dough with his fashion ventures, most notable of which is his Adidas shoe line, Yeezy.

Granted while $17.5 million is nothing to scoff at, the 11th place ranking must sting the driven star who has increased his visibility tremendously with his marriage to Kim Kardashian.

Rounding out the list were DJ Khaled with $15 million; A$AP Rocky with $14.5 million; J. Cole, Lil Wayne and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with $14 million each; veterans Snoop Dogg and Eminem with $12.5 and $11 million, respectively; Alicia Keys' husband Swizz Beatz with $10.5 million; and Rick Ross and Ludacris tying with $10 million apiece.

Lucky seven: Pitbull, seen here last month in his native Miami, came up $20 million in a yearlong stretch, good enough for seventh place on the list

Lucky seven: Pitbull, seen here last month in his native Miami, came up $20 million in a yearlong stretch, good enough for seventh place on the list

Blurred lines at the bank: Pharrell, seen here last month in Los Angeles, ranked eighth on the well-heeled countdown

Blurred lines at the bank: Pharrell, seen here last month in Los Angeles, ranked eighth on the well-heeled countdown

Can't hold 'em: Macklemore (right) & Ryan Lewis snagged the 14th spot with $14 million

Can't hold 'em: Macklemore (right) & Ryan Lewis snagged the 14th spot with $14 million

Icon: Eminem had a relatively quiet year, but still earned big bucks all the same
Swagger: Snoop Dogg was a picture of confidence last month in NYC while appearing on satellite radio

Experienced earners: Eminem (left) and Snoop Dogg continue to reap huge financial windfalls from their remarkable rap careers

The year, on the whole, was the third-most lucrative in the 10 years Forbes has compiled its hip-hop list, as the staggering sum the top 20 produced added up to $450 million. 

The list, according to Forbes, comes from pre-tax monies earned from June 2015 to June 2016, factoring in album sales, tours, digital income, publishing revenues, endorsement deals and outside ventures. 

The information was gleaned from information provided from Bandsintown, Nielsen SoundScan, Pollstar and the RIAA; as well as interviews the publication conducted with industry figures, including some of the artists.

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