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Fortune
Fortune
Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Nicolas Rapp

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ shrinking net worth—from billionaire to jail inmate

In 2022, several decades into a storied entertainment career, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ star—and his net worth—still seemed to be rising.

He had hosted the Billboard Music Awards, launched a new record label, and attained billionaire status. Since then, however, federal racketeering and sex-trafficking charges and a cascade of civil lawsuits have scuttled some of his most lucrative business relationships and vastly deflated the wealth of a man who once called himself Puff Daddy. (Fortune reached out to more than 100 of Combs’ former employees. Read here what those who spoke with us say about his leadership style.)

The mogul is now in a Brooklyn jail awaiting a trial scheduled for May 2025, but he’s nowhere near broke. Thanks to a vast portfolio that includes considerable amounts of cash, investments, and intellectual property, Diddy’s net worth hovers around $300 million—for now. His team did not respond to a request for comment.

Legal bills and settlements are set to further diminish his fortune, and could one day push him into bankruptcy. Here’s a category-by-category snapshot of how deeply Diddy’s finances have been depleted thus far, estimated based on publicly available and reported figures.

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs (2nd from L) flashes No.1 as New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso (L), Terry Lundgren (2nd R), president of Federated Department Stores, and Janet Grove (R), chairman and CEO of Federated Merchandising Group give the thumbs-up, before ringing the opening bell at the NYSE 07 February, 2002. Combs, president and creator of Sean John Clothing, rang the opening bell to celebrate the beginning of Fashion Week in New York. AFP PHOTO Henny Ray ABRAMS (Photo by HENNY RAY ABRAMS / AFP) (Photo by HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Spirits

The bulk of Diddy’s net worth once stemmed from a massive deal with the beverage company Diageo to be the face of Cîroc vodka. Though he technically wasn’t an owner of the brand, the agreement compensated him as such. He also owned half of DeLeón tequila as part of a joint venture. In January, Diageo paid Diddy $200 million for that stake in exchange for severing ties with the liquor giant, including the Cîroc relationship. His after-tax proceeds are all that’s left.

Real estate and collectibles

Diddy’s Miami Beach mansion was recently appraised at $48.5 million. His Los Angeles estate, listed at $61.5 million, has been sitting on the market since September. Even if neither home could fetch such lofty sums, Diddy’s hoard also includes a private jet worth roughly $20 million and a Kerry James Marshall painting he bought for $21 million in 2018. Our $100 million guess at his real estate and collectibles holdings is a conservative estimate of their market value.

Private investments

An early investor in Spotify and a bevy of other startups, Diddy recently gave up his stake (once valued in the nine figures) in the multimedia network Revolt, and his online marketplace Empower Global has been shuttered. The rest of his private holdings are difficult to value—and perhaps even harder to sell.

Catalog and intellectual property

Shortly before Diddy’s empire began to unravel, the music mogul began something of a goodwill campaign, returning the publishing rights to artists ranging from Ma$e to the estate of the Notorious B.I.G. Some, however, didn’t accept his offer—including former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day, who balked at an accompanying mandatory nondisclosure agreement.

Cash and equivalents

In addition to a steady stream of bills from his high-priced legal team, Diddy has drained his bank accounts by writing multiple eight-figure checks in an effort to unravel his legal troubles. Among them: a settlement with ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura estimated in the tens of millions, and an $18 million mortgage repayment on his South Florida home to free it up for use as collateral on a $50 million bail bond. (His requests to be released on bail were denied.)

Zack O’Malley Greenburg is the author of 3 Kings: Diddy, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Hip-Hop’s Multibillion-Dollar Rise.

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