Puff Daddy crowned Forbes' highest-paid hip hop artist of 2015

The 45-year-old's wealth over the past year mainly comes from business ventures as opposed to music

Puff Daddy has been named as the highest-paid hip hop artist of the past year, topping stars including Dr Dre, Jay Z and Kanye West.

The producer-turned-rapper secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (£39m) between June 2014 and June 2015.

The 45-year-old, whose real name is Sean Combs but has previously been known as Diddy, P Diddy and Puffy, enjoys revenue from outside investments, including ventures such as Ciroc vodka, cable network, Revolt TV and clothing line Sean John.

Jay Z followed in second place, earning an estimated $56million over the last year. His earnings come from his Roc Nation entertainment company, ventures in a champagne brand and the On The Run 22-date tour he completed with wife, Beyoncé.

Completing the top three, is Canadian musician Drake who made $39.5million. According to Forbes, his tour brought him an average gross of $1million per show. His earnings also come from endorsements with companies including Nike and Sprite.

Last year, former NWA rapper and producer Dr Dre topped the list by some way, having amassed a $620million (£406m) fortune after selling his Beats headphones brand to Apple.

This year he came fourth on the list, having earned $33million between 2014 and 2015. However, given his role as executive producer in the Straight Outta Compton film, and release of his latest album it is likely Dre could appear higher up next year, according to Forbes.

Nicki Minaj was the only female hip hop star to make the list, coming ninth after making $21million over the past year from her tour and endorsements with brands including Pepsi.

Other members in the top 10 included Pharrell, Eminem, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa and Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman.