Destiny’s Child and Sean “Diddy” Combs had huge paydays in 2005, which led to their appearances at No. 14 and 15 respectively on Rolling Stone magazine’s “Richest Rock Stars Of 2006″ list. The retired R&B trio of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams earned $24.8 million last year, while the Bad Boy Entertainment founder netted $24.3 million in 2005, mostly from selling his Bad Boy Records label to the Warner Music Group and revenue from his Sean John clothing line.

Rapper 50 Cent placed 19th with estimated earnings of $10 million from his G-Unit clothing line, video game deal, Reebok deal, touring, royalties, and his movie “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.” His mentor, Eminem, ranked No. 21 with $17.8 million. Jay-Z followed at No. 22 with $17.5 million, with $3 million of the total coming from his estimated salary as president of Def Jam Records. The remainder came from the sale of Roc-A-Fella Records and proceeds from the Rocawear clothing line. Kanye West and Dr. Dre both earned $16.9 million to rank 25th.

- EUR Web