Rapper and entrepreneur Dr Dre has joined an exclusive club – musicians that are worth more than $1 billion – but who are the others on this list.
Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Dr Dre has officially become a billionaire this week. The 61-year-old appeared in Forbes’ Richest People in the World list.
The list by the influential Forbes magazine catalogues who are the richest people in the world currently. While Dr Dre’s $1 billion net worth might be a mind-boggling amount for most of us, it only places him at number 3,332 on the list. That is another mind-boggling fact – that there are that many billionaires in the world today.
Dr Dre’s entry on the list also puts him into an exclusive club of musicians who are worth more than $1 billion – here is who they are.
Dr Dre
As mentioned, Dre is the newest entry on the list of billionaire musicians. Dre has amassed his fortune over more than 40 years. He first found widespread fame as part of iconic rap group NWA, which was followed by a hugely successful solo career. Dre also produced many hip-hop records in the 90s.
Dre has also appeared in movies over the years and endorsed various products.
But one of the things to boost his wealth significantly was founding Beats Entertainment with Jimmy Iovine. The brand, which produced headphones, was phenomenally successful and was eventually sold to Apple for $3.4 billion – and Dre took a share of that.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift has managed to accrue much of her fortune through her musical activities, and is the first one to make it billionaire status through this. For instance, her Eras world tour has broken records for how much it has made. Forbes estimates she has made nearly $800 million from royalties and touring, while her music catalog – which she now owns completely – is worth $600 million. She also owns more than $110 million in property.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z is the wealthiest musician in history, with his net worth said to be $2.8 billion. He became the first billionaire musician in 2019 and has amassed his fortune through his hugely successful rap career – helped by the fact he owns the masters and publishing rights to it – but also a raft of savvy business ventures and investments. For instance, he founded the Rocawear clothing brand, which was bought by the Iconix Brand Group for $204 million. Jay-Z also founded liquor brand D’Usse, which Bacardi acquired a majority stake in in 2023, when the company was valued at $750 million.
Rhianna
Rhianna became the first female musician to hit the billionaire milestone. She has had a hugely successful singing career stretching over more than two decades, but as with others on the list, it is her business activities that have really helped to boost her net worth. Brands such as her Fenty Beauty line and Savage X Fenty clothing company have been phenomenally successful.
Beyonce
Beyonce – the second person in her household on this list after husband Jay-Z – made it to billionaire status last year. As with Taylor Swift, Beyonce has performed huge world tours that have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars. She is also one of the biggest selling music stars in history, having sold more than 200 million records in her 20-year plus career. Beyonce has also had success in business with various fashion brands.
Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen – known as The Boss to many – has enjoyed a successful career over many decades. He has built his fortune steadily through music sales – he has sold more than 140 million albums over the years – and revenues from touring across the world. However, a major boost to his wealth came in 2021, when he sold his music catalogue – including master recordings and publishing rights – to Sony Music for a reported $500 million.
