Sean Combs

By: Errol I. Mars

Born: November 4, 1969, Harlem, New York, U.S;

Company: Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group;

Position: Founder, CEO;

Industry: Media, Fashion;

Country: United States;

Sean John Combs, the CEO and founder of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group is a multifaceted entertainment powerhouse. Mr. Combs oversees one of the world's preeminent urban entertainment companies, encompassing a broad range of businesses including recording, music publishing, artist management, television and film production, recording facility, apparel and restaurants.

Mr. Combs was born in Harlem and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He began his music industry career as an intern at Uptown Records. He would eventually drop out of Howard after getting hired as a talent director at Uptown, where he would sign and produce Mary J. Blige.

Mr. Combs formed Bad Boy Records in 1994 with the signing of just two artists, former EPMD roadie Craig Mack and friend and collaborator Notorious B.I.G. Bad Boy Records has achieved great success with The Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Mase, Lil' Kim, D-Block/The L.O.X, Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, 112 and Total. The label is now 50% owned by Universal Music Group's Interscope Geffen A&M label.

In 1996, Mr. Combs parlayed Bad Boy's success into an unprecedented 50/50 joint venture with Clive Davis and Arista Records, enabling the label to effectively market its roster of artists to a global marketplace.

In June 2002, after one of the most successful and consistent hit-producing partnerships in the music business in the past decade, Arista Records and Bad Boy Entertainment amicably ended their joint venture. As part of the deal, Mr. Combs gained full control of Bad Boy Records, including the complete artist roster and entire catalogue.

February 2003 brought the announcement of that Bad Boy Records has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Universal Records. Under the auspices of the deal, Universal will provide marketing and promotional support for Bad Boy's roster and distribute both the Bad Boy Catalogue and all new release from the label. Most importantly, Mr. Combs retains 100% ownership of Bad Boy Records.

Christian Casey LLC, Founded by Mr. Combs in 1998 and named for his second son, Christian Casey designs, produces, and distributes high-end urban fashion and accessories targeted to trendy males and females. Bad Boy Entertainment owns Christian Casey, which operates as Sean John Clothing. The label has enjoyed tremendous success, with annual sales exceeding $100 million, and multiple fashion design nominations. In 2004, the Council of Fashion Designers of American awarded Sean John the Men's Designer of the Year award.

Sean John fragrance, a joint venture with Estée Lauder, was formed in 2005. When introduced in 2006, Sean John’s signature fragrance, Unforgivable, quickly reached No. 1 in U.S. department stores. Since then, Sean John fragrances have grown to include Unforgivable Woman and I Am King, and are sold in more than 35 countries and territories. Sean John’s’ Unforgivable scent was the top selling fragrance in 2006, according to leading consumer and retail information provider The NPD Group. That was the first time a men's fragrance had claimed that honour. Sean John’s, I Am King, took home top honors at the 37th Annual FiFi Awards hosted by The Fragrance Foundation. I Am King, was named Fragrance of The Year in the Men's Luxe category. Mr. Combs took home the same award for his first men's fragrance, Unforgivable, in May 2007.

In 2007, Sean partnered with Diageo for a groundbreaking strategic alliance to oversee and manage all branding and marketing initiatives for Ciroc Vodka. Under the terms of the deal, Mr. Combs and Sean Combs Enterprises will take the lead on all brand management decisions for Ciroc, while sharing in the future profits of the growth of the brand. This exclusive US multi-year collaboration, which calls for a 50/50 profit split, is a first for the spirits industry and could be worth more than $100 million for Mr. Combs.

Mr. Combs’ Sean John Enterprise acquired the Enyce clothing line from Liz Claiborne for $20 million on October 21, 2008.

In August 2011, Forbes estimated Mr. Combs net worth at $475 million.