NO. 2 - THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN HIP HOP

By Kopano Marumo

50 Cent
Dollar Status - $440 Million (R3.08 Billion)
Portfolio – G-Unit Records, G-Unit Clothing, sneakers, Formula 50 Vitamin water, Videogames, G-Unit Books and more

Not only has Diddy been head-butted from the number one position, he must also bow down to a man who built his empire in a record seven years.

It seems like yesterday when 50 Cent was rapping "Hey Shawty, it's your birthday/ We gonna part like it's your birthday..." Just last year, Eminem's protégé, had just made it onto the Top Ten with his $100 million bullet-scarred head.

After Glaceau, the mineral water company, was sold to Coca-Cola for a reported $4 BILLION, Fif's 10% stake in the company netted him a cool $100 million, propelling him 7 spots up this chart. Fif may not be the most respected MC but he sure knows how to make money work for him.

Even veteran Mary J. Blige is asking him for financial advice. His G-Unit mini-conglomerate is diversified through a hip hop clique, sneakers, clothing, ringtones, and a solo career spanning over three multi-platinum selling albums (over 20 million copies sold overall).

Corporates, such as Reebok, aren't put off by the fact that he has been shot nine times. In fact, it only adds to his allure. The best-selling video-game 50 Cent: Bulletproof is available for the XBox, PS2 and PSP consoles. Then there's his energy drink Formula 50 and once you’ve acquired the required stamina, there's of cause the condom range for those "Magic Stick/Candy Shop/Amusement Park" moments.

Fif is no actor but he already commands $3, 5 million a film, after just three movies. He also gets paid half-a-million dollars per show performed overseas. He is also due to sell his mansion that previously belonged to fallen boxer Mike Tyson. That should see him gain another pretty penny, at least in the region of $10 million.

He is a money-making machine and he's "laughing straight to the bank with this...” I guess he wasn’t joking when he said he’d “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”.