Sean Combs was once on a glide path to becoming a billionaire. But as sexual assault allegations and civil lawsuits mount, business partners have fled and his brands have become increasingly worthless. And the worst news may be yet to come.
Only rubble remains of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Bad Boy Worldwide headquarters in Manhattan. All that is left of 1710 Broadway—a six-story building that began life in 1919 as a Ford Motor Company showroom—are two jagged concrete pillars, near where a gold and silver awning once proclaimed it the home of all things Diddy. But now, much like his former corporate castle, the 54-year-old hip-hop mogul’s empire has crumbled amid a slew of sexual assault allegations and other lawsuits. (Combs has not been charged anywhere; he and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment pertaining to the abuse allegations, which he has categorically denied.)
It’s a marked contrast from Combs’ beginnings. As he rose in the music world, he famously projected confidence wherever he went, starting with his ascent from Uptown Records intern to founding Bad Boy Records in 1992. From there, Combs was behind some of hip-hop’s most legendary history: stoking the famed East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry, producing the posthumous No. 3 Billboard-hitting release of The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die, signing Biggie’s widow Faith Evans, along with other stars like Mase and, later, Machine Gun Kelly and Janelle Monáe.
And hip-hop was just the beginning. Over the past two decades, he expanded his businesses across several lifestyle categories—including the Sean John fashion and fragrance lines, a wildly successful Cîroc vodka partnership with British spirits conglomerate Diageo and founding the Revolt TV network—and over that period (before taxes and fees), he earned nearly a billion dollars.
In 2019, Forbes estimated Combs’ personal wealth at $740 million. Both Combs and his team later claimed that he was a billionaire, despite offering no documentation to back up the claim. Forbes now conservatively estimates he is worth $400 million.
Given the severity of those civil cases and a looming federal investigation reportedly into human trafficking, Combs now faces an existential threat to his freedom and his fortune. (Combs and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment on Forbes’ net worth estimate; the U.S. government confirmed to several news organizations that action was taken in connection to the investigation.)
In March 2024, federal agents raided his homes in Miami and Los Angeles as part of the trafficking probe, according to several news organizations. It is unclear if Combs is the target of that investigation. Last November, his ex-girlfriend and former Bad Boy artist Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape, sexual assault, and beatings that went on for more than a decade. In her lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, she accused Combs of giving her drugs and forcing her to have sex with other men. (Ventura’s suit was settled one day after it was filed; Combs denied all of the allegations and said in a statement the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing.)
Better Days: Cassie Ventura and Combs attended the Met Gala together in 2018.
JOHN SHEARER/GETTY IMAGES
A 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN last month showed Diddy violently beating Ventura; he issued a since-deleted video apology on Instagram 48 hours later and described his behavior as “disgusting,” without mentioning Ventura by name. The same month that Ventura filed her lawsuit, two more women came forward and filed lawsuits under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, accusing Combs of sexual abuse, beatings and forced druggings. Four additional suits by individual plaintiffs accusing Combs of sexual assault, forced sexual encounters and forced druggings were filed in New York between December 2023 and May 2024, including one from Combs’ former producer, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones. (Combs has denied all allegations across all of the lawsuits, and attorneys representing him have characterised the actions as “baseless” and “money grabs.”)
“Cîroc and DeLeón have next to no impact on Diageo,” says an analyst familiar with spirits giant’s finances. “These two brands are not crucial.”
Combs, meanwhile, was pursuing his own legal action against Diageo. In a May 2023 lawsuit, he claimed the company has “proven unwilling to treat its Black partners equally.” The filing alleged that Combs’ Cîroc and DeLeón brands were “starved” of marketing, production and distribution resources when compared to its other brands such as Don Julio and Casamigos tequila, the latter of which was cofounded by George Clooney.
By June 2023, Diageo ended its partnership with Combs, claiming that “despite having made nearly a billion dollars over the course of our 15-year relationship, Mr. Combs contributed a total of $1,000 [toward the DeLeón deal] and refused to honor his commitments.”
A January 2024 interim results filing by Diageo reveals that Combs was paid $200 million for his equity in DeLeón in exchange for ending his lawsuit and their partnership. “In connection with this acquisition, the previously outstanding disputes between the shareholders were resolved and Diageo is now the 100% owner of the DeLeón brand,” the spirits maker said in a statement. (Diageo declined to comment on the end of the partnership agreement beyond what the company has already disclosed in legal filings.)
Gatsby 2.0″ Combs and Cîroc hosted the famed ‘White Party’ in the Hamptons for many years. In 2018, the party moved to Nikki Beach in St Tropez, France.
JON FURNISS/GETTY IMAGES
The steep decline in his wealth is due in large part to the end of the Diageo partnership. When Forbes valued Combs’ net worth to be $740 million in 2019, the biggest share came from Cîroc. The arrangement was once viewed as a resounding success in the industry, with Combs earning $66 million annually on average from 2007 through its termination in 2023. At the height of his popularity and goodwill, investment professionals told Forbes that Combs could sell the vodka income stream to a third party based on future projected earnings. That kind of deal, Forbes estimated, would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
But no more. Sales of Cîroc declined nearly 24% by volume from 2014 through 2022. By the partnership’s end, though, Combs and Cîroc were inextricable. “He brought Cîroc everywhere, famously,” says Joel Henry, a former Diageo exec in the room where the Diddy deal happened. “Cîroc became Diddy…He became the brand.”
What ended things with Diageo appeared to be more of a reputational hit as opposed to a real threat to its bottom line, unlike the ugly 2022 corporate divorce between Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and Adidas, which caused the German sports apparel company to report a $540 million net loss. “Cîroc and DeLeón have next to no impact on Diageo,” says a European analyst familiar with Diageo’s finances. “These two brands are not crucial,” adds Davide Amorim, a France-based Alphavalue analyst, as Cîroc and DeLeón only make up a few percentage points in Diageo’s overall sales volumes. The massive Diageo portfolio, after all, contains what Amorim describes as “flagship brands” that constitute the bulk of its revenues: Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker scotch, and the Casamigos and Don Julio tequilas.
After the dissolution of his partnership with Diageo, Combs’ last remaining business asset was his equity stake in Revolt TV, the network he founded in 2012 to showcase creators in hip-hop and youth culture. In early June 2024, as news of the sexual assault lawsuits was growing, Combs sold back his stake in Revolt and the company will hand his shares over to employees, a move CEO Detavio Samuels described as “about generating wealth for marginalized communities who have been historically left out”—although Forbes was told the network had a long line of interested buyers.
A third-party valuation document seen by Forbes valued the company at $405 million in 2022, of which Combs had a little more than 50% stake. Crucially, though, an investment banker familiar with Revolt’s finances tells Forbes that Combs’ shares had voting control, but did not have financial control, making them worth less than a direct equity stake.
The banking professional adds the $405 million valuation for Revolt was much too high in his opinion, and that the enterprise value would be below $200 million. Revolt is reportedly profitable; earlier this month, Samuels claimed that EBITDA had quadrupled from 2022 to 2023. (A Revolt representative declined to provide the company’s current valuation.)
Without Diageo and Revolt, Forbes estimates that Combs has approximately $200 million in cash. His Sean John fashion line, which once racked up more than $400 million in annual sales, has been dumped by Macy’s and his eyewear brand has been booted from opticians, rendering it virtually worthless.
Despite Combs’ impressive real estate portfolio—his two Miami homes and LA compound are valued at over $40 million apiece—around half of its actual value is tied up in mortgages. His Bad Boy music catalog, which Forbes once estimated as high as $125 million, would likely fetch a much lower price these days. “Anything [Combs] did as an artist probably has lost substantial value, as has his brand,” says John Branca, Michael Jackson’s estate attorney. Though Combs is earning less in music royalties after giving publishing rights back to Bad Boy artists, including Biggie, it doesn’t mean hip-hop fans have stopped listening. “No one’s not buying Biggie,” says music attorney Peter Paterno, who signed British rockers Queen to their first U.S. record deal. “If it’s a Puffy record, he’s gotten slaughtered.”
Rounding out what’s left of Combs’ fortune are a valuable art collection (with works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kerry James Marshall) along with his Gulfstream jet and 20-car fleet, including a Rolls-Royce and a Maybach.
And his prospects look grim for the near future. The six civil lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault will play out, along with the federal government’s investigation. It remains unclear what Combs might face from the federal government, as he has not been charged or accused of a crime, but there is legal precedent. Namely “RICO claims in sex trafficking,” says Dr. Ann Olivarius, an international attorney specializing in sexual abuse, gender discrimination, and human rights, citing the racketeering statute the U.S. government typically uses in such cases. Among the possible punishments Combs could face if charged and convicted under RICO, she adds, are enormous financial penalties and a long prison sentence. “This is not minor stuff. This is serious. So I think it’s going to be some more unpleasant days for, you know, this gentleman.”
For one current employee in a Combs-adjacent business, it’s the dawn of a considerably less prestigious era. “Once upon a time it was a flex to work for Diddy.”
“And now it’s not.”
Additional reporting by Will Yakowicz
This article was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
