Hip-Hip has been good to those artists that have managed their careers as a business.  Many artists focus on having a good time and dismiss the business part of the process until it is too late.  This recent list by Forbes is a great example of Top Hip-Hop artists that kept their careers in balance.  In the coming years, it would not be surprising if one of these artists wrote a top selling business book.

Here are the Top 5 Earning Hip-Hop / Rap Artists of 2012:

1.    Sean “Diddy” Combs – $550 Million

-         Multiple sources of income like music, Ciroc vodka and clothing

2.    Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter - $460 Million

-         Reportedly earned $204 Million from Rocawear and $150 Million from LiveNation

3.    Andre “Dr. Dre” Young - $260 Million

-         Reportedly earned $300 Million from his part in Beats Electronics

4.    Bryan “Birdman” Williams - $125 Million

-         Cofounder of Cash Money Records supporting artists like Lil Wayne and Nikki Minaj

5.    Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson - $110 Million

-         Reportedly made over $100 Million from Vitamin water

Which artist do you think will be next on this list?

Tags: Top 10, Top 5, Rap, Hip-Hop, music, artist, wealth, money, cash, diddy, jayz, 50 cent, ciroc, rocawear, dr dre, beats, boombox

Ever wondered which areas of the country have the biggest gap between those with the highest income and lowest income?  The team at 24/7 Wall Street put together a list that ranked each state by the biggest gap in wealth.  Some states would immediately be considered due to the large number of millionaire’s. Other states are surprising due to not being known for having such large gaps in wealth. 

Here are the Top 10 States with largest gap in wealth:

1.     New York 

Median household income: $55,246 (16th highest)

Households earning $200,000+: 8.0 percent (6th highest)

Population living below poverty line: 16.0 percent (21st highest)

2.     Connecticut

Median household income: $65,753 (4th highest)

Households earning $200,000+: 11.2 percent (the highest)

Population living below poverty line: 10.9 percent (5th lowest)

3.     Louisiana 

Median household income: $41,734 (7th lowest)

Households earning $200,000+: 3.5 percent (17th lowest)

Population living below poverty line: 20.4 percent (3rd highest)

4.     New Mexico

Median household income: $41,963 (8th lowest)

Households earning $200,000+: 3.4 percent (tied for 15th lowest)

Population living below poverty line: 21.5 percent (2nd highest)

5.     California 

Median household income: $57,287 (10th highest)

Households earning $200,000+: 7.8 percent (7th highest)

Population living below poverty line: 16.6 percent (18th highest)

6.      Florida
Median household income: $44,299 (14th lowest)
Households earning $200,000+: 4.4% (19th highest)
Population living below poverty line: 17.0% (17th highest)

7.      Massachusetts
Median household income: $62,859 (5th highest)
Households earning $200,000+: 9.9% (4th highest)

Population living below poverty line: 11.6% (9th lowest)

8.     Texas
Median household income: $49,392 (25th highest)
Households earning $200,000+: 5.4% (16th highest)
Population living below poverty line: 18.5% (11th highest)

9.     Georgia
Median household income: $46,007 (18th lowest)
Households earning $200,000+: 4.3% (21st highest)
Population living below poverty line: 19.1% (5th highest) 

10. Tennessee
Median household income: $41,693 (6th lowest)
Households earning $200,000+: 3.4% (tied for 15th lowest)
Population living below poverty line: 18.3% (12th highest)

Read entire article

Tags: Top 10, Gap, wealth, poor, rich, money, state, USA, New York, income, millionaire, poverty, list, rank, most, least

Does the best looking model make the most?  Beauty may be skin deep but these Top 10  models are taking it to the bank.  Cindy Crawford was able to turn her modeling career into a few movies and lines of merchandise.  Is your favorite female model on this list? Gisele is married to one the best NFL quarterbacks is the league.  Here are the Top 10 Highest paid female models according to Forbes:

1.     Gisele Bϋndchen - $45 Million

2.     Kate Moss - $9.2 Million

3.     Natalia Vodianova - $8.6 Million

4.     Adriana Lima - $7.3 Million

5.     Doutzen Kroes - $6.9 Million

6.     Alessandra Ambrosio - $6.6 Million

7.     Miranda Kerr - $4 Million

8.     Lara Stone - $3.8 Million

9.     Carolyn Murphy - $3.5 Million

10.                        Candace Swanepoel - $3.1 Million

Which model makes you stop and do a double take?

Tags: Top 10, Hot, model, Gisele, Kate Moss, highest, paid, money, million, sexy, victoria, secret, list, rank, most, runway

Which presidents were worth the most in their lifetimes?  A few on the list may surprise you.  The values have been adjusted to reflect today’s net worth using 2012 dollars but it does shine a light on the financial situation of some of our most popular presidents. So check out this Top 10 list of the richest presidents in US history put together by 24/7 Wall Street:

1. George Washington 

·         Net worth: $525 million

·         In office: 1789 - 1797

·         1st president

2. Thomas Jefferson 

·         Net worth: $212 million

·         In office: 1801 - 1809

·         3rd president

3. Theodore Roosevelt 

·         Net worth: $125 million

·         In office: 1901 - 1909

·         26th president

4. Andrew Jackson 

·         Net worth: $119 million

·         In office: 1829 - 1837

·         7th president

5. James Madison 

·         Net worth: $101 million

·         In office: 1809 - 1817

·         4th president

6. Lyndon Baines Johnson 

·         Net worth: $98 million

·         In office: 1963 - 1969

·         36th president

7. Herbert Clark Hoover 

·         Net worth: $75 million

·         In office: 1929 - 1933

·         31st president

8. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 

·         Net worth: $60 million

·         In office: 1933 - 1945

·         32nd president

9. William Jefferson Clinton 

·         Net worth: $38 million

·         In office: 1993 - 2001

·         42nd president

10. John Fitzgerald Kennedy 

·         Net worth: $1 billion (never inherited his father’s fortune)

·         In office: 1961 - 1963

·         35th president

Is wealth necessary to be a great president?

Check out the full article at msnbc

Tags: USA, Presidents, Rich, Richest, money, millionaire, JFK, clinton, washington, jefferson, top 10, list, rank, most

 What was the best movie of 2011? The folks at Extra have put together the final list of the Top 10 highest earning movies for 2011.  Take a look at the highest grossing list and see how many made the list of 2011 worst movies. How many of the Top 10 highest grossing movies did you see this past year?

1.     Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($381M)

2.     Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($352.3M)

3.     The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ($271.9M)

4.     The Hangover Part II ($254.4M)

5.     Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($241M)

6.     Fast Five ($209.8M)

7.     Cars 2 ($191.4M)

8.     Thor ($181M)

9.     Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($175.7M)

10.                       Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6M)

Did you notice that only 2 of the movies are not sequels?

Tags: top 10, highest, movie, grossing, money, making, million, popular, list, rank, hollywood, transformer, harry potter, hangover, twilight

Tags: Top 10, Richest, Wealthiest, Rich, Wealthy, most, money, billionaire, millionaire, bill gates, warren buffet, walton, list, rank, faslist

Which Major League Baseball players have made the most in one season through 2011?  We have put together the Top 10 highest paid baseball players with a list of their highest one year salary.  Unfortunately, most of these players have been linked to steroids.  Have we encouraged this behavior at the world's best MLB baseball ballparks?

Here are the top earning baseball players of all time:

Single-Season Salaries
Player	Year Team	Salary
Alex Rodriguez	2009 NYY	$33,000,000
Alex Rodriguez	2010 NYY	$33,000,000
Alex Rodriguez	2008 NYY	$28,000,000
Alex Rodriguez	2005 NYY	$26,000,000
CC Sabathia	2010 NYY	$24,285,714
Manny Ramirez	2009 LAD	$23,854,494
Jason Giambi	2007 NYY	$23,428,571
Jason Giambi	2008 NYY	$23,428,571
Alex Rodriguez	2007 NYY	$22,708,525
Derek Jeter	2010 NYY	$22,600,000
Manny Ramirez	2004 BOS	$22,500,000

Which of these players do you believe will be the first in the MLB Hall of Fame?

Data gathered from baseball-reference.com

Tags: Top 10, most, highest, paid, salary, baseball, MLB, Player, Single Season, list, rank, money, cash, best, ballpark, stadium, rodriguez, jeter, ramirez, giambi, sabathia

Which Major League Baseball players have made the most over their career through 2011?  We have put together the Top 10 highest paid baseball players with a list of their career salary earned.  The list has a few of the best MLB pitchers of all time along with a few big hitters from the steroid era.

Here are the top earning baseball players of all time:

Rank	Player	Career Salary
1.	Alex Rodriguez	$264,416,252
2.	Derek Jeter	$205,430,000
3.	Manny Ramirez	$204,807,769
4.	Barry Bonds	$188,245,322
5.	Randy Johnson	$175,550,019
6.	Gary Sheffield	$168,008,550
7.	Greg Maddux	$153,845,000
8.	Ken Griffey	$151,703,682
9.	Roger Clemens	$150,601,000
10.	Carlos Delgado	$146,299,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which of these players do you believe will be the first in the NFL Hall of Fame?

Data gathered from baseball-reference.com

Tags: Top 10, Highest, Paid, Earning, money, cash, most, list, rank, top, arod, clemens, jeter, rodriguez, barry bonds, griffey, baseball, MLB, player

Have you been impressed with blockbuster movies of 2011?  The top 5 are sequels and eight of the Top 10 are part of series.  Many familiar stars like Johnny Depp and Vinn Diesel are leading the way in the Top 10 highest grossing movies of 2011 through mid-July, but where are the original movies and storylines? 

Here the Top 10 Highest Grossing movies of 2011 through mid-July:

Rank	Movie Title	Studio	Total Gross* / Theaters
1	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	P/DW	$327,418,686	4,088
2	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2	WB	$280,016,609	4,375
3	The Hangover Part II	WB	$252,500,941	3,675
4	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	BV	$238,021,773	4,164
5	Fast Five	Uni.	$209,470,135	3,793
6	Thor	Par.	$180,194,411	3,963
7	Cars 2	BV	$177,209,552	4,115
8	Bridesmaids	Uni.	$164,009,535	2,958
9	Kung Fu Panda 2	P/DW	$160,832,657	3,952
10	X-Men: First Class	Fox	$144,265,404	3,692

 

Which movie that is scheduled for the 2^nd half of 2011 do think will land on this list?

*stats provided by Box Office Mojo

Tags: Top 10, Highest, Grossing, Movies, 2011, money, most, list, rank, film, movie, transformers, harry potter, hangover, Thor, Xmen, Kung Fu Panda, revenue

What does it take to become a Billionaire? The annual Forbes list of the Top 10 richest people in the world has been released and the list varies from tech moguls to resources.  Charlie Sheen may not have made the list, but this is a list of the most winning people on the planet.  

Here are the Top 10 wealthiest people of 2011:

Name	Net worth	Industry
Carlos Slim Helú	$74 billion	Telecom
Bill Gates	$56 billion	Microsoft
Warren Buffett	$50 billion	Berkshire Hathaway
Bernard Arnault	$41 billion	LVMH
Larry Ellison	$39.5 billion	Oracle
Lakshmi Mittal	$31.1 billion	Steel
Amancio Ortega	$31 billion	Zara
Eike Batista	$30 billion	Mining, oil
Mukesh Ambani	$27 billion	Petrochemicals, oil & gas
Christy Walton	$26.5 billion	Wal-Mart

 

Who will be the next mogul to make the list in 2012?

Tags: best, top, list, rank, rich, wealthy, gates, buffet, forbes, money, billion, billionaire