In that time, he enjoyed a 50-50 joint venture with Arista, producing such artists as the Notorious BIG and Faith Evans.

BBC: Combs sued over royalties

In the early 1990s, he duetted with the likes of Notorious BIG and Janet Jackson, cheekily branding the latter "a walking bank vault" on her hit single Alright.

BBC: Hip-hop star Heavy D dies aged 44

Bad Boy Entertainment hit the headlines following the death of Notorious BIG.

BBC: Combs sued over royalties

Like his flashier contemporary, Donald Trump, Bluhm, 62, was one of the handful of men who made it big in the notorious 1980s real estate boom.

FORBES: Rebuilding His Fortune

One of the more notorious offenders, a big-boned German named Kim Dotcom, became a cult hero when the U.S. government convinced the Kiwis to shutter his file-sharing platform MegaUpload last August with a brazen raid of his Auckland compound.

FORBES: Kim Dotcom Reaps Mega PR

The extraordinarily sudden success, if that is the right word, of the social media campaign by three American advocacy groups aimed at shining a big spotlight on the notorious Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony has prompted some scathing reactions from plenty of well-informed quarters.

BBC: Joseph Kony campaign under fire

Since then, the 50-year-old Mr. Emanuel has become a Hollywood legend, notorious for mixing it up with big-name actors and producers.

WSJ: How Garage Stymied Hollywood Super Agent