Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Facts: How World’s Richest Rapper Became Forbes’ Highest-Paid Celebrity

Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs managed to grab the top spot on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Celebrity list of 2017, released Monday. Even celebrities like singer Beyoncé, author J.K. Rowling and rapper Drake were not a match for the entertainer-cum-business mogul who earned $130 million pretax in Forbes’ year-long scoring period.

“It ain’t about spendin’ money, I ain’t foolin’ around. I’m recording albums. I’m opening a multimillion-dollar restaurant. I’m building assets,” Diddy had claimed in a 1999 interview with Forbes after he appeared in the Forbes Celebrity 100 issue.

Since then Diddy has managed to build up his assets as well as music career to reach the top of the celebrity net worth pyramid, Forbes reported.

In May 2017, Diddy had topped Forbes’ Richest In Hip-Hop of 2017 list with a net worth of $820 million. While his music did help Diddy climb to the top, some of his other investments also added to his bank balance.

Read: Sean 'Diddy' Combs And Cîroc Launch Summer Colada

Diddy took a chance on Cîroc, a failing Vodka company, by investing in a fifty-fifty partnership with it, when it was hardly moving about 30,000 cases a year. After helping the brand out financially in 2015, the company soon escalated its sales, becoming “the second largest ultra premium brand in the country.”

“They said they weren’t doing much, and that it was struggling,” Diddy told the Washington Post in October 2015. “So I decided to take a chance on the brand. We decided if it does well, we can be 50-50 partners.”

Also, Diddy’s sold-out all-star Bad Boy Family Reunion tour in October 2016, which included big names of the music industry such as rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Lil’ Kim and R&B singer Mary J. Blige, added to his net worth.

Another big chunk of his income came from Sean John clothing label, which reportedly fetched an estimated $70 million.

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Back in 2009, Beyoncé claimed in an interview with Forbes: “I’ve never met anyone that works harder than me in my industry.” The statement still holds true even though she was edged out of the top spot of the Forbes’ list. She landed on the second spot on the list after making estimated $105 million last year. Queen Bey is taking a break from work as she is currently pregnant with twins.

Rowling, on the other hand, became the third highest paid celebrity on the list with annual earnings reaching $95 million, after releasing the much-anticipated eight edition of the “Harry Potter” franchise, “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child” in July 2016. Even though the latest edition came in form of a theatrical script instead of a novel, it sold more than 680,000 print copies in the United Kingdom in the first three days, the Guardian reported.

Drake’s annual earnings were just a million shorter than Rowling and he has his multiplatinum recordings, completely sold-out tours and major endorsements to thank for it, Bankrate reported.

Check out the entire Forbes' Highest-Paid Celebreties list here.