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How Diddy Made More Money Than Beyonce in the Past Year

Sean Combs attends the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. - Kevin Mazur—WireImage
Sean Combs attends the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—WireImage

Last year, Sean "Diddy" Combs didn't even crack the top 20 of Forbes list of the world's highest-paid celebrities. But a lot has changed for the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy, who was named the highest-earning celebrity of the year Monday.

He earned $130 million in the past year, jumping 21 spots on Forbes annual ranking of the world's highest-paid celebs. Beyoncé snagged the No. 2 slot with $105 million in her pocket, and J.K. Rowling came in third with $95 million, according to Forbes. The annual ranking measured pre-tax incomes for the 100 highest-earning celebrities from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017.

Diddy's lucrative earnings came from a sponsorship deal with Ciroc vodka, his Sean John clothing line and from his Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour. Diddy earned $70 million when Global Brand Group bought a majority stake in his clothing line, Forbes reported.

He also has large stakes in companies like DeLéon tequila, Aquahydrate alkaline water and Revolt TV — skyrocketing his net worth to about $820 million, according to Forbes.

Like Diddy, Beyoncé also jumped to the top of the list this year, rising from number 34 last year. This year was her second-highest earning of her career, Forbes noted, and can be attributed to her Formation World Tour as well as the release of her album, Lemonade.

Forbes' list includes a range of celebrities from musicians to authors to athletes to "personalities" like Kim Kardashian West.

Here are this year's 10 highest-earning celebrities, according to Forbes:

  1. Sean "Diddy" Combs, $130 million
  2. Beyoncé Knowles, $105 million
  3. J.K. Rowling, $95 million
  4. Drake, $94 million
  5. Cristiano Ronaldo, $93 million
  6. The Weeknd, $92 million
  7. Howard Stern, $90 million
  8. Coldplay, $88 million
  9. James Patterson, $87 million
  10. LeBron James, $86 million

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