Forbes magazine recently released The Celebrity 100 list and for the first time in the magazine’s history, the list contains a new category titled Hip-Hop Impresarios.
The magazine analyzed celebrity earnings, press mentions, TV and radio mentions, how many times the celebrity appears on the cover of major consumer magazines and Google search results.
Four rappers, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Will Smith made the annual list, which estimates each celebrities earnings from June 2006 to June 2007.
Jay-Z landed inside of the top 10 at #9, with earnings of over $83 million, much of it due to the sale of Rocawear clothing to Iconix in March for $204 million in cash.
In sheer earnings Jay-Z landed at #7, ahead of actor Tom Hanks, but just behind legendary rockers The Rolling Stones.
50 Cent landed at #32, with earnings of $33 million, based on earnings from his G-Unit empire, which includes music, movies and clothing.
Forbes expects 50 Cent’s to chart high next year, due to the sale of $4.1 billion sale of Glaceau to the Coca-Cola company.
50 Cent owned a reported 10% stake in the company, netting the rapper hundreds of millions of dollars, although the exact earnings figure has yet to be revealed.
Forbes closed on the issue prior to the information being released.
In sheer earnings, 50 Cent landed at #29, beating out Rush Limbaugh but coming in behind LA Laker star Kobe Bryant.
Sean “Diddy” Combs landed at # 43, based on earnings of $23 million, derived from his Bad Boy Entertainment and Sean John empires.
In sheer earnings, Combs landed at #55, acing tennis star Maria Sharapova, but defaulting to Matt Damon.
Philadelphia rapper Will Smith landed at #57 with earnings of $31 million.
In sheer earnings Will Smith landed #38, beating rockers U2, but came in under basketball legend Michael Jordan.
In a testament to the Internet’s growing relevance, Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs all benefited in their overall ranking status because of their presence on the web, while big earners like Will Smith (Web: 87) Larry the Cable Guy (Web: 89) and Oscar De La Hoya (Web: 77) scores were effected partially because of their low rankings online.
Pop star Madonna was the highest paid musician during the time period, thanks to her record-breaking “Confessions” tour, which generated $195 million in ticket sales according to Forbes.
Golf icon Tiger Woods also set a record, earning $100 million in one year – more than any other athlete in history.
