Jay-Z says he's deplorable. Diddy thinks he's sick. But he's made $10 billion at the expense of the world's most famous... now he's revealing his secrets
Tony Buzbee is normally awake by the time his alarm sounds at 6.10am. But his assistant won't schedule anything before 11 because mornings in Houston tend to follow a familiar pattern.
One of the most feared, polarizing attorneys in America begins his day in silence: Buzbee will meditate and pray and then hop in the sauna before taking a plunge in cold water.
'I usually sit and do the New York Times crossword puzzle and smoke a cigar,' the 57-year-old tells the Daily Mail. Then he readies himself to litigate some of this country's most pivotal cases.
Buzbee built his name and fortune butting heads with some of the world's biggest celebrities and corporations.
He has made several runs for public office and once sparked outrage by parking a WWII tank on his street. He has represented governors and governments and made an enemy of A-listers, most famously Jay-Z. Over a quarter century, this ex-US Marine from Texas has won settlements and verdicts worth more than $10billion.
Now the Buzbee Law Firm is handling perhaps the most highly-charged case of his career: the attorney is representing 75 alleged victims of Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The disgraced music mogul was last year jailed after being convicted on prostitution charges. Now Buzbee says he is chasing 'justice' through lawsuits against Combs, who denies any wrongdoing.
Tony Buzbee has become one of the most feared and divisive attorneys in America
The Texas attorney has represented governors and governments and made an enemy of A-listers, most famously Jay-Z.
He knows these cases can bring great rewards - the spoils from his courtroom tussles include a yacht, a 7,000-acre ranch, a private jet and a Barrett 50 Cal sniper rifle. But they can also carry significant risks.
'I quit counting the amount of death threats I've received,' Buzbee says. He has had a couple of stalkers, too. So perhaps it is no surprise Buzbee is always armed and his house has 24-hour security.
Buzbee has made millions of dollars but plenty of enemies. Among the nicknames he has earned? ‘Ambulance chaser in a cheap suit' and a 'deplorable human' - and that's just from Jay-Z. Peers have criticized his tactics, his theatrics and his penchant for self-promotion.
But to understand how Buzbee views himself, you only have to look.
First at his history. Both his character and work are shaped by his years as a Recon Marine officer, when he toured Somalia and the Persian Gulf and endured brutal training methods. 'I've had drill instructors yell so much at me my face was covered with spit,' he recalled.
They made him run for days or tread water hour after hour - all to cement that 'Marine Corps mentality, which is very aggressive, very detail-oriented and very mission-oriented... you look for weaknesses and you exploit them.'
He eventually left the military to go to law school and chase bigger paychecks. But Buzbee still makes all his lawyers read FMFM 1 - 'the Marine Corps fighting manual' - and Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War.
The other clues to his psyche are on his forearm - where a shark is inked into his skin - and at his office on the 75th floor. There, sharks have been sculpted into statues and shaped into doorknobs.
'My father cut meat for a living, my mother worked in the high school cafeteria and drove our school bus,' Buzbee says. 'I came from a city of less than 700 people. So I didn't have a lot of opportunity... growing up that way puts a chip on your shoulder and made me very driven.'
The Buzbee Law Firm is currently representing 75 alleged victims of Sean 'Diddy' Combs (pictured with Jay-Z in 2020), who denies any wrongdoing
The attorney speaks during the impeachment trial of ex-Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
'Why wouldn't you want to be involved in the biggest, most-high profile [cases],' Buzbee says
He decided: 'It's not good enough to swim in the pack. You want to lead the pack. And there's nothing, in my view, that has that mentality more than the Great White Shark.'
But how often do sharks spend their mornings meditating?
'The older you get, you start to realize there are more important things than another achievement, another victory, another car, another house,' he says. 'At some point in your life, you realize: you've done it, you've made it. So now it doesn't always have to be [about doing] more.'
Music to the ears of his opponents, no doubt. Unfortunately for them, the 57-year-old has no plans to retire.
'I'm doing exactly what I was put here to do, and I'm going to keep doing it as long I can,' Buzbee says. His showdown with Diddy is expected to go to trial next year.
'The way I look at the Diddy cases - or many of the cases I've been involved in - I always am reminded of that famous movie with George C Scott when he played [World War II general George] Patton. There was a line in that movie that really, really resonated.'
It goes: 'Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, "What did you do in the great World War II?" - you won't have to say, "Well, I shoveled s*** in Louisiana."'
Buzbee sees parallels in his own work: 'Why wouldn't you want to be involved in the biggest, the most-high profile, the most meaningful cases?' he asks. 'Some of these come along once in a career and I don't want to be watching it on TV. I want to be the person in there doing it… and I don't think anybody can do it better than me.'
'I'm doing what I was put here to do, and I'm going to keep doing it as long I can,' Buzbee says
The lawyer is pictured aboard his private jet wearing shoes which carry the message: Just Win
Buzbee reckons his team receive 'one significant call every day of a sexual allegation.' Many relate to 'someone you would know,' he says. 'A billionaire or a sports figure or an entertainment individual… I've had to hire four lawyers who do nothing but sexual abuse and sexual assault cases.'
Many are resolved quietly. Others helped turned Buzbee into a celebrity.
But when a massage therapist approached his office in 2021, accusing then-Houston Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson of sexual misconduct, he turned the case down three times. It's not an area he ever wanted to work in.
Buzbee eventually agreed to send a letter on her behalf. That was supposed to be it. But the response from Watson's lawyer 'p***ed me off,' Buzbee explains. '[So] I decided to file a public lawsuit.'
Before long, more than 20 women had accused the $230million quarterback of misconduct during massages. The Houston Texans, meanwhile, were accused of failing to act despite being 'well aware of Watson's issues.' The team and Watson denied the allegations.
Eventually, the Houston Texans and Watson reached settlements with around two dozen women. Neither admitted any wrongdoing.
But? 'All of a sudden, I became the sexual assault lawyer,' Buzbee says. So when - in April 2025 - a woman sued football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe for sexual assault and battery, it was no surprise Buzbee became her attack dog.
The ESPN star denied the allegations and soon the case turned nasty.
Sharpe accused Buzbee of 'targeting black men' while his attorney claimed the lawsuit was 'filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations.'
Buzbee, whose client wanted more than $50m, then released audio in which Sharpe said he 'might choke [her] in public.' Last July, the parties settled the case, with both agreeing the relationship was consensual. The lawsuit was dismissed.
The 57-year-old, who owns a ranch in Texas, is pictured with his wife Frances Moody Buzbee
Buzbee is not fazed by all the insults - not when he has spent years catching strays for clients. 'There's always blowback,' he says. Sympathy will be limited, of course, given Buzbee's provocative tactics and his love of the spotlight.
'I sometimes complain that I could pass gas and that would be a news story,' Buzbee says. 'But if I think [a headline] somehow helps the case, well, of course that's one of the avenues we will use… I run down every rabbit hole... obviously, all within the ethical rules.'
Buzbee rose to prominence after representing more than 10,000 clients against BP in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The two sides reached a settlement; Buzbee's firm reportedly took home more than half a billion dollars.
Other big-name opponents have fallen since but nothing compares to suing star athletes, he says.
'There is a certain segment of people that would never believe [they] did anything wrong,' Buzbee says. 'If you make an allegation... then you're clearly a liar, because [they] can do no wrong. And that's really the difference.'
Buzbee claims one accuser changed her name and moved to Seattle - just to get out of the firing line.
'[The public] don't care what the facts are... they can be really, really nasty,' he says. 'And of course, when you file the case under Jane Doe or John Doe, the only individual they have to take out their malice against is the lawyer.'
But that is where his status and self-promotion can become a weapon.
Rapper Jay-Z previously branded Buzbee an 'ambulance chaser' and 'a deplorable human'
'One of the reasons people seek me out is because they're looking for somebody to level the playing field,' Buzbee says. 'No law firm is going to bury me in paper. Nobody's going to outspend me, bully me or talk down to me.'
Not even Diddy?
By October 2024, nearly 3,300 people had contacted the Buzbee Law Firm about Combs, who denies accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation.
One woman claimed she was raped by Diddy and Jay-Z when she was just 13. Jay-Z denied the 'appalling allegations' and sued Buzbee for extortion and defamation. 'I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human,' the rapper – real name Shawn Carter – said in a statement.
Last February, the accuser withdrew her lawsuit with prejudice and then, in July, Jay-Z's case against Buzbee was dismissed. But his battle with Diddy goes on. Combs denies the 'sickening' accusations and his lawyers previously dismissed the lawsuits as 'shameless publicity stunts.'
But Buzbee is 'very confident' as he chases what could be the biggest win of a remarkable career.
There was a time when the 57-year-old would celebrate courtroom victories on his yacht or in Beverly Hills. Now, he prefers a night on the couch with his wife, Frances. (They are currently rewatching Downton Abbey.)
He won't head to bed before midnight – and then he'll still be up around six to meditate and pray and do it all over again.
