Dr. Dre tops Forbes' list of highest paid musicians of the decade

by: Mitchell Rose Dec 30, 2019

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Despite only releasing one album in the 2010s, Dr. Dre has topped Forbes’ list of highest paid musicians of the decade, earning a reported $950 million. According to Forbes, Dre accumulated his wealth primarily due to his business ventures, most notably through the wildly popular Beats by Dre headphone series which was acquired by Apple.

In contrast, the decades number two earner Taylor Swift earned the bulk of her $825 million through a steady stream of chart-topping albums and her relentless touring. Pop icon Beyoncé comes in third with $685 million, beating out her husband Jay-Z by $125 million.

According to Forbes, if postmortem earnings were accounted for pop superstar Michael Jackson’s reported $2.37 billion would take the top spot. Read the full list below:

1. Dr. Dre – $950 million
2. Taylor Swift – $825 million
3. Beyoncé – $685 million
4. U2 – $675 million
5. Diddy – $605 million
6. Elton John – $565 million
7. Jay-Z – $560 million
8. Paul McCartney – $535 million
9. Katy Perry – $530 million
10. Lady Gaga – $500 million