Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed.

Apple reportedly buying Beats Audio, making Dr. Dre insanely rich

Apple is reportedly close to purchasing Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion, a deal that would make both Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine even richer. The Financial Times says the deal—which would be Apple’s largest acquisition ever—could be officially announced as early as next week, though this video of Dr. Dre from World Star Hip Hop suggest it’s already a done deal. In the clip, Dre and Tyrese Gibson are seen celebrating over beers, with Tyrese calling on Forbes magazine to update its list of richest rappers.

Advertisement

While it hasn’t done that yet, Forbes has already investigated the sale and what it would mean for Dre. It reports that Dre’s stake in Beats is between 20 and 25 percent—meaning that, even after capital gains taxes, he’d net around $800 million. It’s not enough to make him one of the 400 richest men in the world, but it would easily make him richer than Diddy, who tops the current list of hip-hop’s richest men.

Beats was founded in 2006 by Dre and producer Iovine. The sale would cover both the Beats headphone line and Beats Music streaming service, partially curated by Trent Reznor, which Forbes also speculates could be a major factor in Apple’s bid.