Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 38

Bronx To Billions: Forbes Presents A Mini-Documentary On Hip-Hop’s History

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This year, FORBES is celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Hip-Hop Cash Kings package, which ranks the genre’s 20 highest-paid acts of the year. Over the past decade, we’ve charted the earnings top earners from Akon to Jay Z, but their success wouldn’t have been possible without the pioneers who came before.

So we decided to head up to the South Bronx and interview a handful of them–including Grandwizzard Theodore (the inventor of the scratch) and Grandmas...

Dr. Dre By The Numbers: Charting A Decade Of Earnings

INDIO, CA – APRIL 23: Recording artist Dr. Dre performs onstage during day 2 of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Weekend 2 at the Empire Polo Club on April 23, 2016 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

Dr. Dre earned $923 million over the past ten years–before taxes and spending–according to our Hip-Hop Cash Kings estimates, the mostof any rap mogul over that time frame. Here’s a deeper look inside the numbers.

Real Name:Andre Young
Hometown:...

Diddy By The Numbers: Charting A Decade Of Earnings

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Faith Evans and Puff Daddy perform during Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour at Madison Square Garden on September 4, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Diddy earned $435 million over the past ten years–before taxes and spending–according to our Hip-Hop Cash Kings estimates, third-highest of any rap mogul over that time frame. Here’s a deeper look inside the numbers.

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Real Na...

Jay Z By The Numbers: Charting A Decade Of Earnings

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 09: Jay Z and Beyonce watch on as Serena Williams of The United States and Angelique Kerber of Germany play in the Ladies Singles Final match on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Jay Z earned $501.5 million over the past ten years–before taxes and spending–according to our Hip-Hop Cash Kings estimates, second-highest of any rap...

Making The Forbes List: 10 Years Of Hip-Hop Cash Kings For $4

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The launch of this year’s FORBES Hip-Hop Cash Kings package marks the 10th anniversary of our pioneering ranking of the genre’s top 20 earners. And just like any good album, the past decade of our hip-hop business coverage is best enjoyed with liner notes.

That’s why we released an anthology eBook calledMaking The Forbes List: 10 Years Of Hip-Hop Cash Kings today–packed with our favorite interviews with Jay Z, Diddy Wiz Khalifa, Drake, J. Cole, Tech N9ne, S...

Cash Kings 2016: Hip-Hop’s Highest-Earning Acts

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It’s lonely at the top, goes the old saying–and Diddy has given the proverb a modern slant. “The only one that’s topping Forbes, I’m gettin’ lonely,” he rapped on his 2014 track “Big Homie.”

The same holds true today: Diddy pulled in $62 million over the past year, earning the top spot on our Hip-Hop Cash Kings list for the second consecutive year; take out Dr. Dre’s Beats paydays, and Diddy would be celebrating his fifth cash crown in a row. Though he does...

Meet The Man Behind Drake’s Virginia Black Whiskey

Virginia Is For Rappers: Brent Hocking, creator of Virginia Black whiskey, poses with Drake at the brand’s Canadian launch. (Photo by George Pimentel/Getty Images for Virginia Black Whiskey)

When Brent Hocking was a 27-year-old Bank of America mortgage loan merchant in the mid-1990s, he got his first real exposure to alcohol. The newly-opened Rio casino showered Hocking and his high-rolling friends with freebies, including a bottle of 1961 Chateau Margaux that now retails for about $1,000.

“...

One Man Brand Man: Inside Swizz Beatz’s Bacardi Bonanza

Busy Swizzy: In addition to his usual slate of beatmaking and live gigs–as well as a nine-week Harvard Business School program–the superproducer has taken a job as Bacardi’s global creative director. (Photo: Jamel Toppin)

Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean is strolling down a hallway adorned with paintings by Warhol, Hirst and Basquiat in his New Jersey mansion—which he and wife Alicia Keys bought from Eddie Murphy for $15 million in 2012—when a call comes in from “Mike Bacardi.” At least, that’s wha...

Hip-Hop Cash Kings 2016: Preview And Contest

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Back in 2007, FORBES started charting the earnings of hip-hop’s highest-paid acts. A decade and several billion dollars later, the genrehas become one of the more fascinating business stories in the world. We’re going to add to that narrative on Wednesday, Sept 7th with the launch of the 10th annual Hip-Hop Cash Kings package–and to celebrate the anniversary, we’ve got some special surprises.

In addition to a feature on Swizz Beatz (see above) and our usual...

Skrillex Earnings 2016: $20 Million

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 29: Skrillex performs in the Snake Pit during the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 29, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Skrillex ranks seventhon this year’s Forbes Electronic Cash Kings list, our annual ranking of the world’s top-earning DJs. Here’s some more information on how he did it.

Real Name:
Sonny Moore

Age:
28

2016 Earnings:
$2o million

The dubstep champion improbably served as the driving force behind Just...