50 Cent's Net Worth is 3,000,000,000 Cents Actually
Curtis Jackson’s, or 50 cent net worth is currently approximately $40 million. Like many high net worth individuals in entertainment, he made his fortune from being an American rapper, actor, producer, and entrepreneur. However, he lost quite a bit of the money he made along the way.
He was once worth $155 million after tax. That probably didn’t faze him so much, since he once said, “Every negative is a positive. The bad things that happen to me, I somehow make them good. That means you can’t do anything to hurt me.” Here’s the story of his wealth accumulation.
50 Cent was the pin-up hip hop star of the 2000’s. He made lots of money from hits like In da Club and Candy Shop. Besides that, he built an extensive investment portfolio, which is typical of people with high net worth.
50 Cent’s Wake-Up Call That Made Him Focus On Music
Curtis had a bumpy start in his career. Columbia Records signed him in 2000. However, he was soon the victim of a shooting, and they canned his first album. A gunman attacked him at 11.20 am. outside his grandmother’s former home in South Jamaica. 50 suffered nine shots in the arm, hand, hip, chest, both legs, and left cheek.
He spent about two weeks under treatment in the hospital, and ended up with a swollen tongue, a slurred voice, and lost a wisdom tooth. After making a full recovery in 5 months, 50 took it as a wake-up call. Up to that point, he was dealing drugs in the volatile area since 12 years of age. To turn his life around, he began recording again.
50 Cent’s Net Worth: His Successful Career
Starting with music, 50 Cent experienced massive success. He also leveraged that success to launch his career in acting. Eminem discovered 50 Cent and signed him to Shady Records. Under Shady Records, he produced the album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Released in 2003, the album debut at number one on the Billboard 200. In its first four days, it sold 872,000 copies. His music career was so successful that he sold more than 30 million albums globally.
Awards
Curtis picked up multiple awards, including 13 Billboard Music Awards, a coveted Grammy Award, 3 American Music Awards, and 6 World Music Awards. So far, he’s received 135 nominations, and 86 awards. Here are some of the awards from the respective albums he produced:
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003) – Billboard Music Award for Album of the Year, Best New Artist nomination at the 46th Grammy Awards, and the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Award.
The Massacre (2005) – Six Billboard Music Awards, five Grammy nominations, and ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award.
Curtis – Best-Selling Hip-Hop Artist at the 2007 World Music Awards.
50 Cent’s Net Worth: His Movie Career
Leveraging his success in music, Curtis branched out into acting. One film he appeared in is semi-autobiographical, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Home of the Brave and Righteous Kill. He made appearances, starred, and had voice-overs in multiple other films and shows. They include Hustlers (2019), Power (I) (2014), and The Simpsons (1989).
50 Cent’s Net Worth: Business Investments
50 was smart with his money. Perhaps understanding that his celebrity status would soon fade, he invested in companies, bonds, and stocks. That’s how he made most of his millions. He invested in multiple sectors, including:
real estate
mining
financial market investments
boxing promotions
fragrances
vodka
fashion
consumer electronics
In late 2003, he even signed a 5-year deal to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company. No wonder he ranks among the riches musicians in entertainment.
50 Cent’s Net Worth: Most Successful Business
50’s most successful venture was Glacéau VitaminWater. In this venture, he created an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. As a spokesman for the brand, he had a share in the company. He promoted the company in interviews and songs. In 2007, 3 years after 50 invested; Coca-Cola bought the company for $4.1 billion. 50 earned $100 million from that deal after taxes.
50 Cent’s Net Worth: Multiple Business Investments
Unlike other high net worth musicians, 50’s personal investment strategy was to venture into multiple sectors.
Working with Right Guard, 50 introduced the Pure 50 RGX body spray. He also endorsed Magic Stick condoms while signing multi-year memorabilia deal with Steiner Sports. In line with his acting career, he founded two film production companies: Cheetah Vision and G-Unit Films. He even ventured beyond the United States in his investments. In 2014, he invested an undisclosed amount in Sire Spirits LLC. This made him a minority shareholder in Effen Vodka.
The clothing industry also featured in his investment portfolio. He signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear. The company is a luxury underwear brand retailing its underwear for $100. Through his investments, 50 made around $300 million within two years. This was proof of how good he was at profiting from every situation.
50 Cent’s Net Worth: How He Lost His Money
Unfortunately, the money stopped rolling in and negatively affected 50’s personal finances.
50’s financial problems occurred due to a flailing music career, legal battles, and poor business investments. He ended up in bankruptcy with a $32.5 million debt. His net worth plummeted by $200 million.
However, he remains one of the richest rappers globally. His decision to file for bankruptcy is believed to be a strategy to get out of paying millions of dollars.
The Legal Battles
50 Cent’s fans were shocked when he declared bankruptcy in 2015, with a $32.5 million debt.
That bankruptcy filing came a few days after a court ordered him to pay $7 million to Lastonia Leviston. He had posted her sex tape online without her consent. But that wasn’t the only debt he was facing at the time. In the previous year, he had to pay $17 million to Sleek Audio, a headphone manufacturer. Sleek Audio executives claimed 50 ripped off the earphones line he launched with SMS Audio. 50’s partnership with Sleek Audio to launch earphones fell through before he partnered with SMS Audio.
Reckless Spending
50 suffered a major financial setback from the lawsuits and his flailing music career. This adversely affected his debt to income ratio.
However, his reckless spending also played a role in the loss of more than $150 million. Since his business investments also went bad, he didn’t have as much income to cushion his spending. Some of the reckless spending went into renovating his 18-bedroom mansion in Connecticut. He also had to maintain a string of luxury cars.
This was evident from documents from the US Bankruptcy Court in 2015. It revealed that 50 was making $185,000 every month from marketing and promotional deals. Yet he was spending as much as $72,000 on his home, plus $108,000 for multiple expenses. Clearly, 50 didn’t have proper money management skills, a necessary component of any long-term wealth accumulation.
Imagine that he saved all that money somewhere, let’s say on a saving account. He would never been faced with bankruptcy. So, if you are thinking of accumulating your money, you can start with a savings account. Down below we have suggestions for you:
Failing Businesses
Despite the lawsuits and the failing music career, 50 would still have sufficient finances if his business ventures turned profitable. If his businesses made money, he would pay his debts and other expenses.
But that wasn’t the case. One contributor to the failure of his investments was the 2008 recession. Unfortunately, he also lost his bet on the movie production business. G-Unit, his movie production company, shut down. The remaining movie company, Cheetah Vision, wasn’t a huge financial success. G-Unit Clothing lost its massive success after severing ties with Marc Ecko Enterprises, the parent company. The boxing promotion company went bust too.
Conclusion
Remarkably, by February 2017, 50 emerged from the bankruptcy. Reportedly, he had paid off all his debt. This was earlier than expected. His life certainly depicts a cat with nine lives, or more aptly stated in his own words, “Get rich or die trying’.”
So far, he’s debt-free, performs occasional shows, and still holds several investments. He’s certainly still one of the wealthiest people in entertainment. Perhaps, the critical mistake he’ll be wise not to repeat is investing in too many businesses without proper evaluation. Maybe he would be in a better financial state if he invested in real estate more.