The rapper 50 Cent went from living on the streets to living in mansions. But his net worth hasn’t always been on an upward trajectory.
Rapper 50 Cent’s Net Worth Plunged – For Exactly the Reason You Think
50 Cent is an odd name for a man worth millions of dollars, but his stage name has meaning. It stands for “change”. And man, did he manage to change his life around! Moving from the streets to living in monster mansions and driving fast cars is a real turnaround in lifestyle, if not in attitude.
Born Curtis Jackson, 50 Cent is probably one of the most recognizable rappers in the world today, with a music career that stretches back to the early 2000s. However, few people know of the business decisions and investments 50 has been involved in behind the scenes. In fact, it is from here that the majority of 50 Cent’s net wealth comes.
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What Is the Net Worth of 50 Cent?
Now, between 2021 and 2022, 50 Cent is worth only $40 million to $60 million. The lower-than-normal figure may be surprising to some. However, lavish spending and expensive court cases ended in him filing for level 11 bankruptcy in 2015. In 2007, 50 Cent’s liquid net worth soared with the sale of the mineral water company, Glaceau. He was instantly worth over $100 million from that deal alone. Current income streams include those from rapping, acting, tv production, business ventures, and investments.
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How Did 50 Cent Make His Net Worth?
Like we’ve found with many celebrities, few of them ever only have their hands in one pie. Their fame opens doors for endorsements and business deals that ordinary folk might not get the chance to capitalize on. Of course, having money means that you can spend money on investments. In fact, it is always encouraged and is a big key to developing a multi-million-dollar mindset.
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1. The Music World
It all started for 50 Cent with rap music. However, the genesis of his career was not easy. Some of the gangster rap titles that he wanted to release found him lose his contract with Columbia Records and ended with him being blacklisted by the US recording industry. As such, he had to leave for Canada to record his music. Here, he set to work producing mixed tapes.
In 2002, Eminem discovered Jackson’s work and was super-impressed with his latest mix tape at the time – “Guess Who’s Back!” He signed the artist to an initial $1 million dollar deal and the rest is history. In 2003, his album “Get Rich or Die Trying” was a resounding success, selling 1 million copies in its first 4 days of release. 50’s fame grew massively from then on in.
50 Cent finally ended up with his own record label called G-Unit Records. He also established a clothing brand to compliment the label and to add to his business kingdom.
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2. Acting – The Power Series
As artists mature, their notoriety increases. For 50, this meant moving on into the television business. In fact, he not only took on various movie roles alongside prominent actors in Hollywood but eventually became a co-executive producer for the highly acclaimed “Power” TV series that was aired on Starz from 2014 to 2020.
Not only did 50 Cent produce the show and direct some of the episodes, but he was a co-star on the set. He played the role of Kanan, which had a big part to play in the underworld storyline based loosely on the life of the rapper. The show was extremely successful and bolstered 50 Cent’s net worth by multiple millions each year.
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3. Investments and Business
The money that 50 made between 2007 and 2015 dwarfs anything he has made in the last few years of his career. We estimate that he easily coined over $200 million to $250 million within that time period. His biggest financial success was with his involvement with Glaceau Vitamin Water.
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Glaceau Vitamin Water
He invested a considerable sum into the development of various flavors of the water. He had noticed that they needed a grape flavor to start with. He managed a last-minute buy-in to the company which saw him derive almost 10% equity in the business. Coca-Cola eventually bought the brand for a whopping $4.1 billion. If you do the math, that should have left the rapper with a cash injection of $410 million.
However, investment bankers at the time rubbished that notion and revealed that the sum he earned was closer to between $100 million to $150 million. The problem is, that there is no way of confirming this, as 50 signed a non-disclosure agreement when the deal was conducted.
However, an interview with Larry King revealed that the $100 million was right on the money. While 50 could not confirm or deny the amount, his pearly white smile was touted as the giveaway.
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Effen Vodka
In 2017, 50 Cent’s net worth grew again when he shared on Instagram that he had sold his minority share in the Effen Vodka Brand. It was reported that he walked away with as much as $60 million in that deal. He still has ties in the alcoholic beverage industry today.
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Reckless Abandon – What Ate Into His Riches?
There really is no use in getting rich if you are not going to manage your money affairs effectively. But 50 Cent’s luxury lifestyle was not the only drain on his net worth. Court costs and mandated punitive damage payouts were also a big dagger to the heart of his wealth.
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1. Lawsuits
50 Cent found himself in the courtroom on three occasions. Twice he lost his case and had to pay civil damages to the complainants. The first included a $5 million payout to Lavonia Leviston for leaking an intimate tape of her without her consent. The second was a $17.5 million trademark infringement penalty on headphones with a former partner. It seems the mogul can’t stay away from the courts though, as he is currently embroiled in another Copywrite infringement suit for the shape of his new Cognac bottle. He has been sued by E. Remy Martin & Co.
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2. Luxury Items
It’s normal for the super-rich to spend money on luxury items, but when they start to rack up enormous debt doing so it can get dangerous. One of the largest expenses the rapper doled out was on Mike Tyson’s old mansion. The 50,000 square foot property boasts 21 bedrooms, multiple games and entertainment rooms, and two swimming pools. It cost the rapper $6 million to purchase and upgrade the digs. Monthly costs on that home alone were revealed to be around $72,000 dollars a month, according to his bankruptcy claim. Unfortunately, he sold it for a loss of $3.1 million in 2019, which does not bode well for the 50 Cent net worth figure.
Other expensive purchases include millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry, around 7 exotic cars, and excessive wastage on parties, clubs, and car rentals. All in all, 50 Cent revealed in bankruptcy proceedings that he owned assets to the value of between $20 million and $50 million with about as much debt to his name.
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Round-Up – Down, But Never Out
Mr. Jackson is very likely to bounce back. He has enough money lying around to fund multiple investments and his iconic name is still worth money in endorsement deals. While he may not be as wealthy as he used to be, 50 Cent’s net worth still places him in the class of the super-rich. If anyone can turn things around, it’s him. After, all, he’s already gone from rags to riches once in his life.
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This article was produced by PokCas and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
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