Dr. Dre has officially hit billionaire status

Dr. Dre becomes the second rapper to be featured on Forbes’ billionaire list, joining the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and more.

In 2014, Dr. Dre boldly told Forbes to update its billionaires list to include him, and now 12 years later, it looks like the coveted business publication has. This week, Forbes dropped its updated “World Billionaires” list, and for the first time, Dr. Dre, born Andre Romelle Young, is on it. 

The legendary producer and hip-hop architect joined the three-comma club, clocking in at a net worth of $1 billion, built on decades of music, his Beats headphone empire, and some strategic real estate moves. He now ranks as the 3,332nd richest person on the planet, tied with none other than Beyoncé.

With this appointment,  Dre becomes just the second rapper on Forbes’ billionaire list, joining Jay-Z, who officially crossed that threshold back in 2019 and has since pushed his net worth to $2.8 billion through a portfolio that includes D’Ussé Cognac, Armand de Brignac Champagne, Tidal, and Roc Nation. Similarly, the “Beats by Dre” founder is only the sixth musician to join the list. 

However, the appointment feels like a full-circle, manifested moment for the Compton rapper. In May 2014, after he and Jimmy Iovine sold Beats Electronics to Apple for $3 billion, Dre famously declared, “They need to update the Forbes list, sh-t just changed.” While fans were quick to celebrate the milestone at the time, the rapper turned entrepreneur walked away from the deal with a reported $500 million, making him the richest rapper alive, but still short of billionaire status. 

By 2022, his net worth had dipped to around $400 million. The following year, he sold a portion of his music catalog, including two solo albums, his share of N.W.A. royalties, and producer royalties, to Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group for $250 million. Since then, Dre has been stacking wealth through investments and high-end real estate. 

Now, nearly 12 years after he planted the seed for his billionaire goals, Forbes is co-signing what Dre said all along.