Sean Comb a.k.a Puff Diddy's Meterioric rise to Fame and Fortune

Sean Combs was born on the dangerous streets of Harlem and exposed to violence at an early age, the odds were stacked against Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, from day one. Nobody believed he would amount to much, let alone go on to become one of the most successful and well-known musicians, producers and entrepreneurs of our time. November 4, 1969 was the day Sean John Combs entered the world. Born in Harlem, New York City to Janice and Melvin Combs, Combs’ early life was a far cry from the luxurious existence he has grown accustomed to since. At the age of two, Combs’ life would change forever. His street-hustler father was gunned down, leaving Janice to raise Combs and his sister on her own. Fearful of the increasing danger Harlem posed to her children, Janice moved the family to Mount Vernon, New York. This, she believed, would provide the children a safer environment in which to grow up.

Without the support of her husband, Janice was forced to work three jobs in order to not only provide for her kids, but to be able to also give them the best possible education. Combs attended Mount Vernon Montessori School and later completed his secondary education at the private, Catholic boys’ school Mount Saint Michael Academy. Of his mother’s influence on his life, Combs recalls, “She was constantly pushing. I feel like I was nurtured into wanting to be somebody special.” Were it not for his mother’s strong encouragement and the faith she had in him, Combs’ could have easily followed in the footsteps of his father and suffered the same fate at a young age. Instead, with his mother by his side and a good education in hand, Combs was given a strong character base, from which his future success would later stem.

After graduating from high school, Combs moved to Washington, D.C. to attend Howard University where he pursued a degree in business administration. His attention slowly began to shift from inside the classrooms to outside on the streets. His entrepreneurial instincts started to kick in, and soon he was producing weekly dance parties and also running an airport shuttle service. Combs would never finish his degree. Fortune smiled on him when he was offered an internship at Uptown Records, one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels of its time. Recalling his desire to work closely with Uptown founder Andre Harrell, Combs says, “I told him I’d wash cars, quit school – anything – a priceless chance to be in your presence.” At just 19 years old, Combs had been promoted to become one of the label’s top executives, managing such notable acts as Father MC, Mary J. Blige and Heavy D & the Boyz. The very first record that Combs produced, Jodeci’s Come & Talk to Me, sold two million copies and led to Combs’ promotion to vice president. After just two years with Uptown, Combs was fired. “I guess Andre didn't want two kings in the castle,” Combs says of his dismissal. “I had obtained some success, some notoriety, and I didn't realize it wasn't my house.” And so, at the young age of 21, Combs decided to create a company of his own. Today Sean Combs is a fashion and media mogul whose businesses rack in millions of dollars every year. His clothing label Sean John has been extended to fragrances, which are selling like hot cakes worldwide.

In 1993, after being fired from Uptown, Combs established Bad Boy Records, taking new hip-hop artist The Notorious BIG with him. Both The Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mark quickly released hit singles, followed by similarly successful LPs, particularly B.I.G.'s Ready to Die. Combs began signing more acts to Bad Boy, including Carl Thomas, Faith Evans, 112 and Total, as well as producing for Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin, and others, and forming The Hitmen, an in-house production team. In 1998, Combs started a clothing line, Sean John. It was nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Award for Menswear Designer of the Year in 2000, and won in 2004. In November 2008, Combs launched his latest men's perfume under the Sean John brand called "I Am King" dedicated to Obama, Muhammad and Martin Luther King. In his blog he stated: "There is a black president and it's time for there to be a black Bond". In November 2008, he unveiled a new Times Square billboard for the "I Am King" line to replace his iconic Sean John ad. The giant billboard is currently the largest print ad in Times Square. Model Bar Refaeli was chosen to be the face of the fragrance.

In addition to his clothing line, Combs owns an upscale restaurant chain called Justin's, named after his son. The current restaurant is in Atlanta; the original New York location closed in September 2007. He is the designer of the green Dallas Mavericks alternate jersey. On September 18, 2007, Combs teamed up with 50 Cent and Jay-Z for the "Forbes I Get Money Billion Dollar Remix. He also made appearances with Jay-Z on his American Gangster concert tour in 2007. As of October 2007, Combs has inked a multi-year deal, in which he'll help develop the Ciroc brand, one of Diageo PLC's super-premium Vodka lines, for a 50-50 share in the profits. The agreement is the latest in which a celebrity is going beyond the typical role of endorser to share in a brand's rise and fall. Diageo said the agreement could be worth more than $100 million for Combs and his company, Sean Combs Enterprises, over the course of the deal, depending on how well the brand performs. Since then, he has launched multiple ventures for Ciroc, many of which were featured during the 2008 presidential election.

Combs acquired the Enyce clothing line from Liz Claiborne for $20 million on October 21, 2008. In a 2008 interview with Albert Lawrence of Talk of Fame, while speaking about his diverse work ethic, Combs claimed that he was "The Black Sinatra".