Diddy might be a long way from his Bad Boy days, but the former associate of the Notorious B.I.G. continues to swim in money as he approaches his 48th birthday. Forbes says rap star and business mogul brought in $130 million (pretax) last year, making him the highest-earning celebrity on their 2017 list.
The partial sale of his clothing line, Sean John, was a big driver for Diddy, netting him $70 million when all was said and done. Alongside a lucrative deal with Ciroc and the revenue from the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, Diddy was able to eclipse his closest competition by about $25 million. It was a Herculean effort that vaulted him over some of the biggest names in pop culture. When you're beating out the likes of J.K. Rowling, Drake, Howard Stern, Beyoncé, and LeBron James, you're doing something right in your life.
Though some of the names on the list were expected, a few surprises popped into the list. Thanks to his heavy presence in the streaming scene, the Weeknd was able to obtain an estimated $75 million touring advance, which helped place him at the No. 6 spot on this year's list. He spoke to Forbes about the power of the tour, and says that's how artists have to make their money these days.
“We live in a world where artists don’t really make the money off the music like we did in the Golden Age,” he said. “It’s not really coming in until you hit the stage.”
When it came down to it the top 10, who dabble in a variety of industries, will bring in just under a billion dollars over the course of one rotation around the sun. Damn. There are as follows:
10. LeBron James ($86 million)
9. James Patterson ($87 million)
8. Coldplay ($88 million)
7. Howard Stern ($90 million)
6. The Weeknd ($92 million)
5. Cristiano Ronaldo ($93 million)
4. Drake ($94 million)
3. J.K. Rowling ($95 million)
2. Beyoncé ($105 million)
1. Diddy ($130 million)
You can check out those who made up spots 11-100 over at Forbes.
