Sean Diddy Combs verdict: 5 times rapper topped the list of highest-paid artists globally
The Bad Boy Records founder turned his fame into one of the most successful entertainment brands in the world. Over the years, Combs repeatedly topped global income lists, often out-earning his peers by millions.
2017: $130 million - highest-paid celebrity worldwide
In June 2017, Forbes named Combs the highest‑paid entertainer globally, estimating his pre‑tax earnings at $130 million from June 2016 to June 2017. His income came from the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, his ongoing deal with Cîroc vodka, and the sale of part of his Sean John clothing line
2017: Highest-paid musician - ahead of Beyoncé and Drake
Just months later, Forbes also listed him as the world's highest‑paid musician for 2017. He pulled in that same $130 million, surpassing fellow heavyweights like Beyoncé and Drake.
2016: Major celebrity earnings
Back in June 2016, Forbes included Combs at No. 22 on its Celebrity 100 list, with an annual income of $62 million-a figure driven by endorsements and music ventures.
Diddy was again named the richest hip‑hop artist in 2014 by Forbes, tied with Jay-Z. At that time, his diversified holdings in music, vodka, fashion, and media pushed him to the top of the hip‑hop wealth rankings.
2013: Leading hip‑hop's highest earners
Forbes also ranked Combs as the top earner in hip‑hop for 2013, estimating he brought in $50 million that year-primarily from Cîroc, television, and his Sean John fashion label
Now, his future hangs in the balance. According to Variety, the defence has requested Combs' release ahead of sentencing, offering a $1 million bond. Prosecutors pushed back, calling the request inappropriate and warning that Combs poses a continued threat. Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey argued that Combs has shown disregard for US law, referencing the abuse and drug use mentioned during the trial.
Judge Arun Subramanian has asked both sides to submit their final positions in writing by 1 pm ET. He will then decide whether Combs can remain free ahead of sentencing.
The verdict followed a lengthy eight-week trial, during which 34 witnesses testified against the 54-year-old music producer.
In 2017, Diddy topped Forbes' list of the highest-paid entertainers, earning $130 million through music, business ventures, and endorsement deals.
Diddy's wealth comes from various sources including his Cîroc vodka partnership, the Sean John clothing line, Bad Boy Records, Revolt TV, and music tours.
Yes. In 2017, he was also named the highest-paid musician globally, out-earning stars like Beyoncé and Drake.
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For Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Could A Lesser Conviction Mean A Greater Public Rehabilitation?
For nearly two years, a nearly nonstop parade of allegations and revelations has ravaged and unraveled Sean "Diddy" Combs' carefully cultivated reputation as an affable celebrity entrepreneur, A-list party host, Grammy-winning artist and music executive, brand ambassador and reality TV star. It culminated in a verdict Wednesday that saw Combs acquitted of the most serious sex trafficking charges, though guilty of two lesser ones. The stratospheric heights of his previous life may be impossible to regain, but the question remains whether a partial conviction could mean a partial public rehabilitation, or if too much damage has been done. "Combs managed to avoid becoming the next R. Kelly," said Evan Nierman, CEO and president of crisis public relations firm Red Banyan, referring to the R&B superstar convicted of similar sex trafficking charges as those that Combs beat. Combs, 55, has yet to be sentenced and faces the likelihood of prison time, but he no longer faces the prospect of spending most of the rest of his life behind bars. While the law allows for a prison sentence of up to 10 years, the lawyers in the case said in court filings that guidelines suggest a term that could be as short as 21 months or last more than five years. "This is a very positive outcome overall for him. And it does give him an opportunity to try to rebuild his life," Nierman said. "It won't be the same, but at least he's likely going to be out there in the world and able to move forward." Moving on from the jokes that 'will haunt him forever'. The case had a broad reach across media that made Combs a punchline as much as a villain. Talk shows, "Saturday Night Live" and social media posters milked it for jokes about "freak-offs" and the voluminous amounts of baby oil he had for the sex marathons. "There are definitely terms which have now become part of the popular lexicon that never existed pre-Diddy trial, including things like 'freak-off,'" Nierman said. "The images that were painted in the trial and some of the evidence that was introduced is going to stick with him for a long time." Danny Deraney, who has worked in crisis communications for celebrities as CEO of Deraney Public Relations, agreed. "The jokes will haunt him forever," Deraney said. Managing public narratives - something Combs has previously excelled at - will be essential. He could cast himself as a tough survivor who took on the feds and came out ahead, or as a contrite Christian seeking redemption, or both. "It's a powerful thing for the hip-hop mogul to go public and brag that he beat the rap and that the feds tried to come after him and they failed," Nierman said. "I could definitely see him leaning into that." Nierman said the fight "now will become part of the Sean Combs mythology." Combs fell to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The moment by all accounts was spontaneous but could also be read as the start of a revival narrative. "No matter what you're accused of, it's what you do to redeem yourself on the way back," Deraney said. "Is he redeemable? Those are still heavy charges he was guilty of. It's tough to say; people have had these charges hanging over their heads and were able to move on." The long fall Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest and will remain jailed while he awaits sentencing. His long reputational fall began when his former longtime girlfriend and R&B singer Cassie, the criminal trial's key witness, sued him in November 2023, alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. He settled the next day for $20 million, but the lawsuit set off a storm of similar allegations from other women and men. Most of the lawsuits are still pending. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie, born Casandra Ventura, has. The revelation last year of a major federal sex trafficking investigation on the day of a bicoastal raid of Combs' houses took the allegations to another level of seriousness and public knowledge. The later revelation that feds had seized 1,000 bottles of baby oil and other lubricant entered the popular culture immediately. Fellow celebrities were called out for past Diddy associations - though no others were implicated in the criminal allegations. The May 2024 leak of a video of Combs beating Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway eight years earlier was arguably just as damaging, if not more, than the initial wave of allegations. It brought a rare public apology, in an earnestly presented Instagram video two days later. Nierman called the video, shown at trial, "something people aren't just going to forget." Shortly after Combs' apology, New York City Mayor Eric Adams requested he return a key to the city he'd gotten at a ceremony in 2023. Howard University rescinded an honorary degree it had awarded him and ended a scholarship program in his name. He sold off his stake in Revolt, the media company he'd founded more than a decade earlier. Combs is not about to get the key, or the degree, back. But he could pick up the pieces of his reputation to salvage something from it. Deraney said it may require "some kind of come-to-Jesus moment where he owns up to it." "Really what it's going to come down to is if he goes to prison, will it change him?" Deraney said. "Has he changed at all during this whole processes? I don't know."
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New York: Despite being found not guilty on the most serious counts at his sex trafficking trial, Sean "Diddy" Combs will spend months awaiting sentencing at a notoriously understaffed and violent Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has lived through nearly ten months of lockdowns and fights. Combs, 55, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 2024 arrest. The facility, which has also held convicted sex traffickers like British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly, is a far cry from the luxurious Los Angeles and Miami mansions Combs called home until last year. After the verdict was read on Wednesday, Combs' lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to release him on $1 million bond ahead of his sentencing, expected to take place by October. "I understand that you don't, that Mr. Combs does not want to go back to the MDC," the judge said. Combs shook his head. His hopes of returning to one of those homes and the embrace of his family after being cleared of the more serious charges were soon dashed. The judge denied Combs' request for bail, citing evidence of his violent behavior presented during the trial. In recent years, MDC has been plagued by persistent staffing shortages, power outages and maggots in inmates' food. Two weeks after Combs' arrest, prosecutors announced criminal charges against nine MDC inmates for crimes including assault, attempted murder and murder at the facility in the months before Combs arrived. In January of last year, a federal judge in Manhattan declined to order a man charged with drug crimes detained pending trial at the MDC, calling the conditions there an "ongoing tragedy." Last August, another judge said he would convert an older defendant's nine-month jail term to home incarceration if he were sent to MDC, citing the jail's "dangerous, barbaric conditions." The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which operates MDC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The bureau has said it takes its duty to protect inmates seriously. During the eight-week trial, U.S. Marshals transported Combs to and from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan each day from the facility in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, which has also housed former cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried and Luigi Mangione, accused of killing a health insurance executive. Bankman-Fried has since been moved to a low-security prison in California and is appealing his fraud conviction and 25-year sentence. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. A jury found Combs not guilty on Wednesday on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, sparing him a potential life sentence, but convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution that could land him in prison for several years. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Combs' defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in court on Wednesday that Combs had been housed in "a very difficult part of the MDC" where there have been fights. His lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said in a November 2024 court filing that frequent lockdowns at the facility had impaired Combs' ability to prepare for trial. On Wednesday, Combs' lawyers praised MDC staff, who they said had facilitated their access to him during the trial. "Despite the terrible conditions at the MDC, I want to thank the good people who work there," defense lawyer Teny Geragos told reporters after the verdict.
