Music mogul Dr. Dre rapped about “no more livin’ hard” more than two decades ago on the 2001 track “Still D.R.E.” Now, he has leveled up to billionaire status.
The Compton, California-born hip-hop musician and producer who popularized a funkier genre of gangsta rap has joined Forbes’ Billionaires list, the media outlet says.
A profile of Dr. Dre, 61, born Andre Young, is Forbes’ April/May cover story – you can also read the story on Forbes.com – and you can find him on the Forbes Billionaires list sandwiched between technologist Vladimir Ivanov and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
He also joins other musicians Beyoncé, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Jay-Z on Forbes’ World Celebrity Billionaires list.
Dre tells Forbes he continues to work on music, including early 400 unreleased tracks created during the pandemic.
“Who knows if something is gonna happen to make me come up with the best thing I’ve ever done in my life?” he tells Forbes.
“The exciting part is there’s the potential of that. It’s exciting and depressing at the same time because I know it’s there, and what if I don’t find it?”
Dre’s production beyond music helped push him towards billionaire status. He and record label chairman Jimmy Iovine founded Beats Electronics in 2008 and made $300 high-end headphones a status symbol. Six years later, they sold Beats to Apple for $3 billion.
Since then, Dre has teamed with Snoop Dogg (Iovine is an investor, too) on Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop ready-to-drink cocktails and Still G.I.N. By Dre and Snoop, an ultra-premium gin, both of which came to market in 2024.
“I don’t chase money – I try to make the money chase me,” Dre told Forbes, who also ranked Dre as No. 20 on its list of the Greatest Self-Made Americans.
Source: USA Today
