“Run This Town”: Jay-Z second highest paid musician in 2021; Kanye West was number four

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Sean Combs

Jay-Z and Kanye West hit double platinum in 2009 with “Run This Town” featuring Rihanna, and since then, they have been running the music industry. They are consistently in the top ten of the highest paid musicians of the year, and in 2021 they were in the top five

Hova earned $470 million in 2021, second only to Bruce Springsteen who earned $590 million according to Rolling Stone. For hip hop’s first billionaire, it was the highest annual earnings total of his career. Last year, he sold half of his Armand de Brignac champagne for $300 million, and 80