Dr Dre has been named hip-hop's highest earner of 2012 after racking up a staggering $110 million (£70m) in earnings.

The music producer and rapper beat former Cash King Jay Z to the top spot, becoming only the second hip-hop artist since 2007 to make more that $100m in one year.

According to Forbes magazine's Cash Kings 2012 list, Dre, real name Andre Romelle Young, made most of his money after selling half of his lucrative headphone company, Beats by Dr Dre, to HTC.

In 2011, Dre and Jimmy Iovine, chairman and founder of Beats Electronics, sold a 51% share of the company to the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer for $309m.

The 47-year-old artist, who has not released an album since 1999, is said to have been busying himself with a range of non-musical ventures.

The release date of his long-awaited new album, Detox, has been delayed several times.

IBTimes UK looks at who the list..

Here is the full list of the 20 top hip-hop earners of 2012:

1. Dr Dre - $110m

2. Diddy - $45m

3. Jay-Z - $38m

4. Kanye West - $35m

5. Lil Wayne - $27m

6. Drake - $20.5m

7. Birdman - $20m

8. Nicki Minaj - $15.5m

9. Eminem - $15m

10. Ludacris - $12m

11. Pitbull - $9.5m

12. Rick Ross/Wiz Khalifa - $9m

14. Snoop Dogg- $8.5m

15. 50 Cent - $7.5m

16. Swizz Beatz/Pharrell/Young Jeezy - $7m

19. Mac Miller- $6.5m

20. Akon/Timbaland/Tech N9ne - $6m

The rapper has been named as Forbes's highest earning hip-hop star after making $110

Rap mogul Sean Combs, aka Diddy, came second place with $45m. Most of his money came from non-musical ventures including his involvement in Diageo’s Ciroc vodka.

Jay Z topped the list in 2011 has slipped to third. Most of his money came from stakes in cosmetics company Carol’s Daughter, the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and a venture with Duracell. He also earned big from his Watch the Throne collaboration with Kanye West.

Kanye West's Watch the Throne album collaboration with Jay Z has helped secure his fourth place ranking. His fashion line and Air Yeezy collaboration with Nike also brought his earnings to $35 million.

Cash Money rapper Lil Wayne brought in $27m with the help of sales of his latest album, Tha Carter IV, his clothing line Trukfit and a partnership with Pepsi’s Mountain Dew.