Dr. Dre Sets Record As Highest Paid Musician Of 2014

Move over Beyonce, Dr. Dre is setting some serious records. While 2014 was “Beyonce’s most profitable year ever,” according to the Wrap, she still didn’t even come close to Dr. Dre’s earnings this year.

Dr. Dre topped Forbes’ Highest Paid Musician List of 2014 without even releasing an album this year. Dr. Dre’s take home total before taxes ended up being $620 million. Dre ended up setting two records with this total.

Firstly, according to Forbes, this “number also marks the largest single-year haul of any musician ever.” That’s impressive if you think of all the legends to come before him, and not a single one of them ever brought home in one year as much as he did in this past year. Secondly, this “gives him the widest margin in history between the first and second spots on our top-earning musician’s list.”

The aforementioned Beyonce came in a not so close second. So what was the difference? Oh, just a half a billion dollars. Beyonce made just $115 million last year due to her Mrs. Carter Show tour, the unexpected release of her hit album, and endorsements with Pepsi and H&M. And yet, she still had some ways to go before she could meet Dre.

The rapper, producer, and business mogul sold his company, Beats, to Apple back in May for a grand total of $3 billion, which experts say is how Dre hit the top of Forbes’ list this year. It’s not surprising how much the company went for, seeing as how the popular headphones, Beats by Dre, have been seen on stars such as Serena Williams and Jessie J., and are still the hot Christmas present this year.

Who else did Dre beat out? Oh, just the Eagles, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift. And if he beat Beyonce by a half a billion dollars, you can only imagine the margin between some of the other stars on Forbes’ yearly list.

Dr. Dre has made a name for himself in the past as the previous co-owner of Death Row Records. He’s also well known for his work with Snoop Dogg and the one and only Slim Shady, Eminem. The Compton born artist released hits such as “Let Me Ride” and his collaboration with Tupac, “California Love.”

I’m not sure if this was the award he wanted to receive, but nonetheless, Dr. Dre has to be pretty impressed with making it as the year’s highest-paid musician.

[Photo Courtesy of Commondr3ds]