Sean Combs, known professionally as Diddy, has an estimated net worth of $400 million. Combs is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and entrepreneur who founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 and built one of the most commercially successful entertainment and business portfolios in hip-hop history. His net worth peaked at over $1 billion in the early 2020s before declining significantly following legal proceedings and the dissolution of business partnerships.
Updated March 2026: According to Business Insider, Combs’s net worth dropped substantially after his 2025 federal conviction and the termination of several major business agreements. Industry estimates place his current net worth at approximately $400 million, down from a prior peak above $1 billion, with ongoing civil litigation continuing to affect asset valuations.
Sean John Combs was born on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, New York City, to Janice Combs, a model and teacher’s aide, and Melvin Combs, an associate of convicted drug dealer Frank Lucas. His father was shot and killed in Central Park in January 1972, when Sean was two years old. Combs was raised by his mother in Mount Vernon, New York, in financially difficult circumstances.
He attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, graduating in 1987. He then enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he studied business administration for two years before dropping out to pursue a career in the music industry. He has acknowledged the importance of Howard’s network and environment in shaping his ambitions, even without completing his degree.
Combs secured an internship at Uptown Records around 1990, working under Andre Harrell. He demonstrated exceptional talent for identifying commercial sounds and artist development, quickly rising to become a talent director. He was fired from Uptown in 1993, shortly after which he founded Bad Boy Entertainment, signing a joint venture with Arista Records.
Bad Boy’s early roster included The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Total, and 112. The label’s commercial peak coincided with the mid-to-late 1990s East Coast rap era. Combs released his debut solo album No Way Out in 1997 under the stage name Puff Daddy; it sold over 7 million copies in the United States, was certified 7x platinum by the RIAA, and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1998. The death of The Notorious B.I.G. in March 1997 was a defining moment of the era and of Combs’s public persona.
Over the following two decades, Combs released additional albums — Forever (1999), The Saga Continues… (2001), Press Play (2006), and Last Train to Paris (2010) — while expanding his focus to business ventures. He periodically performed and released music under multiple stage names including Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, and Love, before legally changing his name to Love in 2023. In 2023 he released The Love Album: Off the Grid.
Sean Combs has seven children. His eldest, Quincy Taylor Brown (born 1991), was adopted and is the biological son of singer Al B. Sure! and Combs’s former partner Kim Porter. Combs and Porter, a model and actress, had three biological children together: Justin Dior Combs (born 1993), Christian Combs (born 1998), and twin daughters D’Lila Star and Jessie James Combs (born 2006). Kim Porter died in November 2018 from lobar pneumonia at age 47. Combs also has a daughter named Chance Combs (born 2006) with a different partner, and a daughter named Love Sean Combs (born December 2022) with Dana Tran.
Combs was never married. His relationship with Kim Porter was on-and-off over approximately 13 years and was widely covered in entertainment media. He also had a high-profile relationship with Jennifer Lopez from 1999 to 2001.
In September 2024, Combs was arrested by federal authorities in New York on charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering. He pleaded not guilty and was denied bail. After a trial in 2025, a jury acquitted him on the sex trafficking and racketeering charges but convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Numerous civil lawsuits from dozens of plaintiffs alleging sexual assault and abuse remain ongoing as of March 2026.
Diddy’s net worth is estimated at approximately $400 million as of 2026. His wealth peaked at over $1 billion in the early 2020s, driven by his Cîroc vodka partnership, DeLeón Tequila, Sean John, and Bad Boy Records. Net worth declined significantly following the termination of his Diageo partnerships, legal defense costs, and the broader impact of his 2025 federal conviction on his brand and business relationships.
In 2025, Sean Combs was convicted on two federal counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking by force and racketeering. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Dozens of civil lawsuits from additional accusers were filed and remain pending as of early 2026.
Combs built his music fortune through Bad Boy Entertainment, which he founded in 1993. The label signed The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, and a roster of R&B and hip-hop acts that generated hundreds of millions in record sales during the 1990s and 2000s. His own debut album No Way Out (1997) was certified 7x platinum by the RIAA and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album. He earned additional music income through catalog ownership and production credits on numerous multi-platinum records.