4) Lil’ Kim – Net Worth: $18 Million

Born Kimberly Denise Jones, her collaboration with Notorious B.I.G.’s group Junior M.A.F.I.A., gave her a start in the music industry in 1995. She went solo in 1996 with the album Hard Core, which included the hit song “No Time,” featuring Diddy. The album earned a certified double platinum. Jones’ hard-edged rhythms and sexiness made her unique within hip-hop industry. In 2012, she was ranked #45 VH1’s “100 Greatest Women In Music.” A native of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Jones served a long prison sentence for perjury and conspiracy; a shooting that involved her friend. Jones made public come back in 2009 with an appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

=2) Nicki Minaj – Net Worth: $50 Million

A mixed of Missy Elliot-Lil’ Kim-Foxy Brown. Thanks to her MySpace page, the Queens native was discovered by Dirty Money Entertainment CEO Fendi. Minaj’s debut albums Pink Friday went platinum shortly after its launch in 2011, reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

The Trinidadian-American rapper and R&B singer-songwriter became the first female rapper to make the Forbes’ Hip-Hop Cash Kings list; ranked #15 with $6.5 million and again the only female on the list in 2013 with total earnings of $29 million. In 2014, she was ranked #11 with a total of $14 million. No longer judge on American Idol, Minaj still earns from tour and endorsements which include Mac, OPI, Pepsi and she also make money from her line of drink  Myx Fusions moscato.