Latest news with #DeLeón
Newsweek
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Net Worth as Trial Starts
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Sean "Diddy" Combs' long-awaited criminal trial began today with jury selection as the rap mogul faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Once considered one of the wealthiest artists in the music industry, Combs' financial status has become less clear amid mounting legal troubles and public backlash. Why It Matters Combs' financial decline comes amid what is one of the highest-profile criminal trials in the entertainment industry. He is facing life in prison if convicted. The trial has implications not only for Combs' freedom but for the future of his business interests. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all criminal counts and denies any wrongdoing. Newsweek reached out to Combs representatives for comments. Sean "Diddy" Combs at a special screening of "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story" held on May 16, 2017 at The Curzon Cinema Mayfair in London, England, UK. Sean "Diddy" Combs at a special screening of "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story" held on May 16, 2017 at The Curzon Cinema Mayfair in London, England, UK. zz/KGC-247/STAR MAX/IPx What To Know In 2019, Combs had an estimated net worth of $740 million, according to Forbes. The outlet now estimates that Combs is worth $400 million. The decline follows a series of civil lawsuits, a federal indictment and the sale or diminishment of key assets in his empire. Combs is the founder of the record label Bad Boy Records. At its peak, the label made $130 million annually, according to Business Insider. He has also made $100 million off his own music, Fortune reported in March 2024. While Combs has been active in the music industry for decades, it is not his only stream of income. His clothing brand, Sean John, has annual revenues exceeding $525 million, Fortune reported. In 2007, he entered a partnership with alcoholic beverage company Diageo to increase sales of the Cîroc vodka brand and DeLeón tequila. The agreement included a 50/50 split at the time, but Diageo now owns 100% of Cîroc and DeLeón. It is estimated that Combs made $60 million annually from the deal, according to Fortune. Combs ventured into acting in the 2010s and signed a $185 million deal to buy cannabis retail stores across the U.S. in November 2022. His Combs Wine & Spirits venture and other licensing deals also played a role in increasing his net worth. Combs has also profited from Revolt TV, the media company he launched in 2013. He has since sold his stake in Revolt. Combs owns homes in Florida and California. His Miami Beach mansion is estimated to be worth over $37.4 million. His Los Angeles mansion is currently for sale, listed at $61.5 million. Federal prosecutors say that from 2004 to 2024, Combs coordinated "freak offs" in which women were allegedly drugged and coerced into sex acts. Combs is also facing dozens of civil lawsuits. What People Are Saying Combs, in a 2023 interview with the Associated Press: "My dreams have always been to be successful in music, being obsessed with fashion and the greatest Black serial entrepreneur to ever live." Combs' attorneys, in an October 2024 statement obtained by CNN: "Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman." What Happens Next Opening statements are scheduled for May 12 in Manhattan federal court, and the trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. Do you have a story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
After Celebrity-Adorned Liquor Ventures, This Entrepreneur Goes Solo
Tequila Purisima, which sells for $400 for a single decanter or $1,200 for a set of three, launches ... More this month and will be available for direct shipping to 48 states and international markets. Entrepreneur Brent Hocking's first tequila venture, DeLeón, debuted in 2009 and was sold to liquor giant Diageo and Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 2013. Three years later, his next boozy business was built with another rapper, Drake, a whiskey called Virginia Black. Hocking's third liquor debut, he promises, will be completely celebrity free. 'Everything is about accessibility and celebrity, and nothing is about quality anymore,' Hocking tells me during a virtual interview, as he bemoans the dozens of celebrities that have poured into the liquor market. 'The saturation of the marketplace went to hell.' This month, Hocking is re-entering the tequila category with the launch of Tequila Purisima, which sells at astonishingly high price points for a tequila: $400 for a single decanter or $1,200 for a set of three. Tequila Purisima will be available for direct shipping to 48 states and international markets, but only via a mailing list. 'It's going to be an extremely tightly-held project,' says Hocking, of his decision not to work with any mass retailers for the launch. While celebrities have financially backed liquor brands for the past few decades—rocker Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo tequila and actor Dan Aykroyd's Crystal head vodka are among the early trend setters—it was the 2007 combination of Diddy's financial and marketing partnership with Diageo to bolster the flailing Ciroc vodka that proved the formula could work. 'The success of what a celebrity can do with alcohol should really be credited to Diddy with Ciroc,' says Hocking. That case also highlights the pitfalls. Diddy and Dieago joined focus again to buy DeLeón, an early entrant into the super-premium priced tequila market. But the relationship soured after Diddy sued Diageo over allegations the company had poorly marketed Ciroc and DeLeón by treating them as inferior 'urban' products. That case settled in early 2024. TORONTO, ONTARIO - APRIL 12: Founder and CEO of Virginia Black Decadent American Whiskey Brent ... More Hocking and songwriter, rapper and actor Drake attend the Canadian Pre-Launch of Virginia Black Decadent American Whiskey held at LCBO at Yonge & Summerhill on April 12, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo byfor Virginia Black Decadent American Whiskey) Later that year, the music titan faced federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges and has faced allegations in civil court of drugging people. He has denied the allegations. Diageo has since fully extracted itself from the Diddy partnerships: taking full financial control of DeLeón for $200 million and offloading Ciroc in a deal that traded ownership for a stake in NBA star LeBron James' Lobos 1707 Tequila. When investors and brands work with celebrities to launch new liquor brands, they tend to point to two other blockbuster deals as proof points: actor Ryan Reynolds' $610 million deal to sell Aviation Gin and George Clooney's $1 billion deal for Casamigos tequila, both also sold to Diageo, whose mainstay portfolio includes Captain Morgan rum and Don Julio tequila. The Casamigos deal, in particular, has led to dozens of celebrities jumping into the tequila category, which has been a strong seller in recent years. Model Kendall Jenner's 818 and actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Teremana are among them. 'I don't care if it's the best tequila in the world, I do not want to drink it if it is a celebrity tequila,' says Hocking, describing the shifting mindset he hears in the marketplace from consumers. 'There is that backlash.' When Hocking created DeLeón, his price points were nearly unheard of for tequila, selling for $150 for blanco and up to $1,000 for some of the aged expressions. The price points for Tequila Purisima are even loftier, mostly to be sold to the wealthy and private collectors. From 2014 through 2024, volume for the highest priced 'super premium' tequilas—which include Casamigos, Don Julio, Patrón, and Herradura—more than tripled, according to data by industry trade advocate the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. Total growth for the overall tequila category was a bit more modest over that same period, but still doubled. From 2014 through 2024, volume for the highest priced 'super premium' tequilas more than tripled. ... More Entrepreneur Brent Hocking says the growth for higher-priced tequilas justifies his view that another brand like Tequila Purisima, seen here, can entice consumers. Hocking says the growth for higher-priced tequilas justifies his view that another brand like Tequila Purisima can entice consumers. He says he fully controls the production process at a distillery in the Mexican town of Purisima and lauds the high sugar count agave he procures, water that's sourced from 400-meter-deep spring wells and a cooking process for the agave that lasts more than three days in steam ovens to turn the starch into fermentable sugars. Tequila Purisima's packaging includes a bottle with ripples meant to evoke the flow of water and a faux python box that's a reference to the snake on the Mexican flag. As for why he's returning to the tequila business after a 12 year absence, Hocking has a pretty simple response. 'I needed something to drink.'
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former L.A. Councilmember Kevin de León faces ethics fine for voting on issues in which he had a financial stake
Former Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin de León is facing an $18,750 ethics fine for voting on city council decisions in which he had a financial interest and for failing to disclose income. De León has admitted to four counts of "making or participating in a decision in which a financial interest is held" and one count of failing to disclose income, according to a report prepared by the enforcement arm of the L.A. City Ethics Commission. The ethics report says that in 2020-21 De León voted on three city council issues that benefited the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and one that helped USC — all decisions that were made less than a year after he received more than $500 income from each. According to state law, elected officials must disclose each source of gross income of $500 or more received in the 12 months before taking office. Less than 12 months after receiving income from AIDS Healthcare Foundation, De León participated in three separate city decisions that affected the foundation in which he knew or had reason to know he had a financial interest, the ethics commission report said. But according to the ethics commission report, De León failed to disclose $109,231 in income he had received from the foundation before he took office. On Nov. 25, 2020, he voted for the foundation's application for historical designation of the foundation-owned King Edward Hotel. On April 22, 2021, he voted for an item regarding a city lease of the foundation-owned Retan Hotel. On May 4, 2021, he voted again for a city lease of the Retan Hotel. Read more: LA Times Today: Kevin de León says he deserves another chance. Critics say he's 'gaslighting' L.A. De León's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but The Times received a statement from a spokesperson for De León: "This matter centers on disclosure — not personal gain. The items in question provided homeless housing during a pandemic and health services to vulnerable Angelenos," the statement said. "They passed unanimously, and had Councilmember De León been advised that he should recuse himself, he would have done so without hesitation — the outcomes would have been the same." USC paid him $155,000 as an independent contractor from July 2019 to June 2020. Less than 12 months later, De León participated in a city decision that benefited USC, according to the ethics commission. In June 2021, De León voted to approve the Housing and Community Development Consolidated Plan proposed budget, which included a $1-million allocation to the USC Keck School of Medicine. In March 2020, De León was elected to represent Council District 14 on the L.A. City Council. In May 2020, while still a council member-elect, De León entered into a consulting agreement with the Healthy Housing Foundation, a division of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and began providing services as a strategic policy advisor. The agreement said that De León was to "advise and strengthen strategy regarding partnerships and policy insights on behalf of HHF's programs and portfolio," and '[e]ngage with policymakers and regulators on all areas related to overall strategic goals of HHF," according to the ethics commission. De León took office in October 2020. He filed a financial disclosure form the next month, but did not disclose the AIDS Healthcare Foundation or its Healthy Housing Foundation as sources of income. In December 2020, he filed an amended financial form but did not disclose income from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which was "the true source of the income that he received under the consulting agreement," according to the ethics commission report. In determining the fine amount, the ethics commission said that De León cooperated with staff and that he has no prior enforcement history. However, the ethics commission noted the violations in this case are serious and that "the violations appear to indicate a pattern of conduct." Similar issues were highlighted in a 2023 Times story that found De León helped organized a meeting in summer 2020 with a group of city department heads and high-ranking mayoral staffers to address issues facing the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. At the time, De León had been elected but not yet taken office. Read more: Arellano: The sad, desperate, Hispandering end of Kevin de León's career In the months before the meeting, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation was pursuing a lawsuit alleging the city illegally denied funding for an affordable housing project that the foundation was proposing. An email from the mayor's then-deputy chief of staff to colleagues said De León 'wants to engage and come up with a solution.' Five city officials who attended the briefing or were involved in organizing it told The Times in 2023 they were unaware that De León was employed as a consultant for the foundation at the time — or of the more than $100,000 it was paying him in the six months before his taking office. Political ethics experts, meanwhile, told The Times that De León's relationship with the foundation and failure to disclose his financial ties raised a potential conflict-of-interest concern. They believed his actions could have left city staffers with uncertainty about whose interests he was serving — the city's or his then-employer's. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
19-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Former L.A. Councilmember Kevin de León faces ethics fine for voting on issues in which he had a financial stake
Former Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin de León is facing an $18,750 ethics fine for voting on city council decisions in which he had a financial interest and for failing to disclose income. De León has admitted to four counts of 'making or participating in a decision in which a financial interest is held' and one count of failing to disclose income, according to a report prepared by the enforcement arm of the L.A. City Ethics Commission. The ethics report says that in 2020-21 De León voted on three city council issues that benefited the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and one that helped USC — all decisions that were made less than a year after he received more than $500 income from each. According to state law, elected officials must disclose each source of gross income of $500 or more received in the 12 months before taking office. Less than 12 months after receiving income from AIDS Healthcare Foundation, De León participated in three separate city decisions that affected the foundation in which he knew or had reason to know he had a financial interest, the ethics commission report said. But according to the ethics commission report, De León failed to disclose $109,231 in income he had received from the foundation before he took office. On Nov. 25, 2020, he voted for the foundation's application for historical designation of the foundation-owned King Edward Hotel. On April 22, 2021, he voted for an item regarding a city lease of the foundation-owned Retan Hotel. On May 4, 2021, he voted again for a city lease of the Retan Hotel. De León's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but The Times received a statement from a spokesperson for De León: 'This matter centers on disclosure — not personal gain. The items in question provided homeless housing during a pandemic and health services to vulnerable Angelenos,' the statement said. 'They passed unanimously, and had Councilmember De León been advised that he should recuse himself, he would have done so without hesitation — the outcomes would have been the same.' USC paid him $155,000 as an independent contractor from July 2019 to June 2020. Less than 12 months later, De León participated in a city decision that benefited USC, according to the ethics commission. In June 2021, De León voted to approve the Housing and Community Development Consolidated Plan proposed budget, which included a $1-million allocation to the USC Keck School of Medicine. In March 2020, De León was elected to represent Council District 14 on the L.A. City Council. In May 2020, while still a council member-elect, De León entered into a consulting agreement with the Healthy Housing Foundation, a division of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and began providing services as a strategic policy advisor. The agreement said that De León was to 'advise and strengthen strategy regarding partnerships and policy insights on behalf of HHF's programs and portfolio,' and '[e]ngage with policymakers and regulators on all areas related to overall strategic goals of HHF,' according to the ethics commission. De León took office in October 2020. He filed a financial disclosure form the next month, but did not disclose the AIDS Healthcare Foundation or its Healthy Housing Foundation as sources of income. In December 2020, he filed an amended financial form but did not disclose income from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which was 'the true source of the income that he received under the consulting agreement,' according to the ethics commission report. In determining the fine amount, the ethics commission said that De León cooperated with staff and that he has no prior enforcement history. However, the ethics commission noted the violations in this case are serious and that 'the violations appear to indicate a pattern of conduct.' Similar issues were highlighted in a 2023 Times story that found De León helped organized a meeting in summer 2020 with a group of city department heads and high-ranking mayoral staffers to address issues facing the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. At the time, De León had been elected but not yet taken office. In the months before the meeting, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation was pursuing a lawsuit alleging the city illegally denied funding for an affordable housing project that the foundation was proposing. An email from the mayor's then-deputy chief of staff to colleagues said De León 'wants to engage and come up with a solution.' Five city officials who attended the briefing or were involved in organizing it told The Times in 2023 they were unaware that De León was employed as a consultant for the foundation at the time — or of the more than $100,000 it was paying him in the six months before his taking office. Political ethics experts, meanwhile, told The Times that De León's relationship with the foundation and failure to disclose his financial ties raised a potential conflict-of-interest concern. They believed his actions could have left city staffers with uncertainty about whose interests he was serving — the city's or his then-employer's.
Miami Herald
09-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Liquor giant trades Diddy's vodka for Lebron James' tequila stake
Liquor company Diageo and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs joined forces in 2007 to market his Cîroc Ultra-Premium Vodka and extended the partnership in 2014 by purchasing his tequila brand, DeLeón. However, the amicable relationship ended a few years later when in May 2023, Combs filed a lawsuit against Diageo for allegedly neglecting his two liquor brands, DeLeón and Cîroc. The rapper claimed the company treated his brands as inferior products, made racist remarks against him, and didn't make promised investments. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Less than a year later, Diageo and Combs reached an agreement to end their business relationship in January 2024. As part of this agreement, the rapper would dismiss his lawsuit and withdraw all allegations made against the liquor company. However, Diagio remained the sole owner of DeLeón tequila and Cîroc vodka at the time. Related: King of Beers wants to become king of vodka teas Allegations of rape and abuse surfaced about Combs that same year, which tainted his image and reputation. This caused Diageo to receive continuous backlash and its sales to plummet due to the previous partnership. Image source:Diageo (DEO) announced it is forming a joint venture with the leading investment and advisory firm MainStreet Advisors to exchange its majority ownership of Cîroc Ultra-Premium Vodka's brand rights in the U.S. for majority ownership in Lobos 1707 worldwide, which is NBA star LeBron James' tequila brand. Both companies will oversee the Cîroc brand in North America and the Lobos 1707 brand worldwide, according to the announcement. However, Cîroc will not be included in Diageo's North American financial results. Instead, it will be reported under income from the joint venture and associates, but classification will remain unchanged in all other markets. Related: Major tequila company makes huge tariff announcement The companies claim this decision was made to maximize the value of Cîroc and Lobos 1707 brand rights worldwide. "Cîroc and Lobos 1707 have incredible potential, and through this collaboration, we are unlocking new opportunities to accelerate their reach, resonance, and revenue growth in ways that traditional models cannot achieve," said MainStreet Advisors CEO Paul Wachter. However, the business move comes after the settlement of the ongoing legal battle to end its partnership with Combs and the surfacing of his recent controversies. North America is Diageo's largest market, accounting for 40% of its net sales and around 50% of its operating profit. As for its liquor categories, vodka's market share in the region was 44% in 2024, and tequila's was 34%. Although the swap would mean that Diageo replaced a more consumed liquor with a slightly less popular one, Lobos 1707 has a better reputation than Cîroc due to LeBron James' celebrity presence in the American market. More Retail News: Walmart may have a tariff-proof weaponTarget unveils genius strategy to boost seasonal salesKroger makes big move to be much cooler store Lobos 1707 launched in 2020, with LeBron James as an investor. Since then, the tequila brand has grown in popularity among the younger generations, making it a lucrative investment due to its huge growth potential. This is why Diageo wanted to obtain the worldwide rights of this brand. Diageo and MainStreet Advisors appointed TikTok's Former Global Head of Marketing, Nick Tran, as the joint venture's President and Chief Marketing Officer. "Nick has a reputation for transforming brands into cultural icons and developing consumer and digital strategies focused on Gen Z audiences. Within the JV, Cîroc vodka and Lobos 1707 tequila will each maintain their distinct identities and consumer appeal and leaders," stated the announcement. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
