With the end of 2014 nigh, there are many end-of-year lists surfacing on the internet, and one that particularly struck our interest was one that compiled the world’s richest musicians and trust us, some of the results will shock you.

Pieced together by one of the globe’s leading ultra high net worth intelligence and prospecting firms Wealth-X, the organisation has detailed the 10 richest recording artists using “a proprietary valuation model to assess all asset holdings including privately and publicly held businesses and investible assets to develop Net Worth Valuation” as Hypebot point out.

So who is hogging all the spondula in the recording industry? Madonna, that’s who.

Yep, you read it right, the Queen of Pop in accordance to Wealth-X’s evaluations currently boasts of a staggering USD$800 million net worth, making her the richest musician in the world.

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What did surprise us with these results was that Madge had edged out Paul McCartney by quite a huge margin. Sitting at the #2 position, Macca having secured $660 million.

There’s a very strong hiphop representation within Wealth-X’s findings, which notably sees Dr. Dre sit just below Paul McCartney with $650 million, no doubt thanks to the surmountable of dosh he earned from his big Beats sale. Hot on the Californian rapper’s heels is P-Diddy, who courtesy of insane record sales and business ventures such as his own label, Bad Boy Records, puts him at $640 million, whilst Jay-Z hits #8 with $510 mill.

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There is a strong female contingent within the Top 10 as well, with Celine Dion landing herself in #5, probably due to her annexation of Las Vegas, Mariah Carey is comfortably #7 richest musician for her endless slew of chart-topping singles, not to mention the youngest entrant Beyonce, who earns her places at #10.

Naturally, this list features artists predominately from the US or the UK, with the exception of Bono, and despite Aussie musicians having had a killer year, Wealth-X’s Top 10 sees no representation of our fair nation.

Wealth-X Top 10 Highest Earning Musicians:

1. Madonna Ciccone, 56 – $800 million

2. Paul McCartney, 72 – $660 million

3. Andre Romelle Young (Dr. Dre), 49 – $650 million

4. Sean John Combs (Diddy, Puffy, Puff Daddy), 45 – $640 million

5. Celine Dion, 46 – $630 million

6. Paul David Hewson (Bono), 54 – $590 million

7. Mariah Carey, 44  – $520million

8. Shawn Corey Carter (Jay-Z, Hova, Jigga), 45 – $510 million

9. Sir Elton Hercules John, 67 – $450 million

10. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter 33, – $440 million

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