Sean Combs’ Once-Lucrative Business Empire Is Drying Up. Here’s Where It Stands.

Cîroc and DeLeón

When Combs signed with Cîroc in 2007, he was one of the first celebrities to go into the booze business. As part of a deal with Cîroc’s parent company, liquor giant Diageo, he agreed to market the vodka in exchange for a cut of sales. Six years later, he formed a joint venture with the company, launching tequila brand DeLeón.

For years, the partnership was one of Combs’ most lucrative. In a filing last year, Diageo said it had paid him nearly $1 billion over the 15-year relationship.

But earlier this year, the relationship between Diageo and Combs came to an end. After a series of legal back and forths between the parties — and the first of many sexual assault lawsuits filed — the company severed ties with Combs.

“Mr. Combs is well-aware that these lawsuits make it impossible for him to continue to be the ‘face’ of anything,” Diageo lawyers wrote last year, pointing to the sexual assault claims that had begun to pile up.

He pocketed $200 million for his stake in DeLeón tequila and nothing for his longtime work with Cîroc. The nine-figure check is an impressive one-time sum, sure, but his cash cow went along with it.

Even if the relationship was ongoing, the money may not have lasted all that much longer, Spiros Malandrakis, the head of research in alcoholic drinks at Euromonitor, told BI.

“Most celebrity pairings tend to eventually lead to diminishing returns,” he said. “The scandals and most recent revelations would just be the proverbial cherry in an already toxic cocktail that was increasingly past its sell-by date.”

Music Catalog

What made Combs famous — his music — is one of his last remaining money makers. Musicians make money whenever one of their records is sold, streamed, played on the radio, or used in a television show or film. Combs still owns his catalog, and it has actually seen a bump in streaming on Spotify since his federal indictment, Durant said.

Experts added there’s little concern that people will completely abandon the catalog, pointing to the fact that music from the likes of R. Kelly and Michael Jackson still gets streamed.

“People separate the song from the person in a lot of ways,” Martini said, though he added that the amount Combs may actually receive from those streams could be lower than that of other artists, as his music is so sample-heavy.

Even with a streaming bump, the royalties that Combs is receiving, in total, have diminished. Last year, he reassigned the publishing rights of artists like the Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans from his Bad Boy Records catalog. At the time, Combs painted the move as “the right thing to do.” His motivations have since been questioned, though; Aubrey O’Day, a member of Danity Kane, said that to get the rights back, she had to sign an NDA and refuse to disparage Combs.

It would also be hard for Combs to cash out and sell his catalog — something musicians from Bruce Springsteen to Kiss have done to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Both Durant and Martini said the catalog has gone down in value due to Combs’ reputational damage, with Durant estimating it’s worth just 10% of what it once was. While people may still stream Combs’ music, it’s less likely that his songs will appear on TV, in films, as part of commercials or brand deals, or on the radio, areas where the real money in catalog ownership is made.

On top of that, there is little chance there will be a Combs or Bad Boy tour anytime soon — especially considering he is in jail until further notice. The last time Bad Boy artists came together, for the Bad Boy Boy Family Reunion Tour in 2016, the tour was one of the top-selling of the year, grossing an average of $925,887 per tour stop.

Sean John

Combs’ clothing line Sean John helped drive one of his biggest paychecks. In 2016, he sold a majority stake in the business, which at that point included fragrance and furnishings, to Global Brands Group for a reported $70 million.

At the time, the brand was lauded for its staying power compared to other celebrity brands and was reported to be doing $450 million in annual retail sales. Combs maintained a minority stake in the label — one that would have led to a stream of annual paychecks had the partnership gone well.

But just five years later, Sean John was a shell of its former self. Global Brands Group had filed for bankruptcy, and Combs bought back the business for $7.55 million, just over 10% of what it was once worth.

That next chapter wasn’t a positive one. As the series of sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs began, Sean John was approaching its demise.

Macy’s, the once exclusive home of the brand’s sportswear line, pulled the label last fall, though it’s unclear if it was due to the compounding lawsuits. Sean John’s Instagram page has been wiped clean, and its website no longer exists — nor does any cut of sales that Combs could be making.

Revolt

Combs’ income from Revolt, the cable network and media company he cofounded, is another casualty of the accusations against him. Soon after Ventura came forward, Combs stepped down as its chairman, and in June, Revolt confirmed he no longer had a stake in the company and that employees were now the largest shareholder group.

Little is publicly known about how much he got for his stake, but there was earnings potential in the company, with its CEO telling Billboard it was profitable in June.

Aquahydrate

While never exactly a huge money-maker, the alkaline water for which Combs was a brand ambassador and part owner — along with Mark Wahlberg and Jillian Michaels — has seemingly cut ties with the disgraced star.

Combs is no longer listed on the company’s website and has not appeared in any brand promotions for years. After an acquisition fell through in 2020, the water, which used to be sold at grocery stores and pharmacies nationwide, now seems to be sold mainly online, with the stockist page broken on its website.