Sean Combs

By Sean Gregory/New York

His star-studded birthday bash, Broadway acting gig and get-out-the-vote campaign (whose tag line, Vote or Die!, earned its fair share of derision) kept his fans--and the gossip pages--rapt. But fame alone doesn't really pay the bills. No other CEO has combined celebrity and smart branding quite like Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, 35, head of the sprawling Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. Combs' $300 million urban empire includes a hip-hop record label, two restaurants, a music-publishing arm and a marketing company, Blue Flame, which teaches FORTUNE 500 clients like Pepsi and Microsoft how to reach an inner-city audience. And in June, Bad Boy's crown jewel, the Sean John clothing line, earned Combs the Menswear Designer of the Year Award from the Council of Fashion Designers.

Combs survived a hard childhood in Mount Vernon, N.Y.; a senseless bicoastal rap war in the 1990s that probably cost the life of his best friend, top Bad Boy performer Christopher (Biggie Smalls) Wallace; and a 2001 gun-possession trial, which ended in acquittal, before acquiring his mainstream profits. And he's not finished. Bolstered by a $100 million investment from Los Angeles supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle, Combs signed a licensing deal with Estee Lauder to launch a men's fragrance next fall. This summer he opened a Sean John retail store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. More stores are in the works. As Bad Boy keeps growing, the ubiquitous Combs vows to shed some of the spotlight. "I was really tired this year," he says. "It's important for me to slow down and to focus on the details so that nothing falls through the cracks." Combs doesn't need to spend more time in the boardroom. He has already shown millions of fans that you can make it to the mainstream without leaving your roots behind. --By Sean Gregory/New York