50 Cent net worth: Curtis James Jackson III, aka 50 Cent, is a rapper and entrepreneur with a net worth of $33 million dollars. Here’s how he did it.
1. 50 Cent was born on July 6, 1975 in Queens, New York City. His mom was a drug dealer and was murdered when he was eight. After that, his grandparents raised him. At 12, he too began selling crack. By high school, he’d grown the operation to a $5,000-a-day business. He has never had a real job.
2. Despite making so much money dealing drugs, 50 Cent knew it was only a matter of time before he would end up in jail. So he started pursuing rap on the side. His big break came in 1996 when Jam Master Jay signed 50 to his record label. 50 credits the late legend with teaching him the essentials of rap and making him believe he could actually do it for a living.
3. Three years later, in 1999, 50 Cent signed with Columbia Records. They paid him a $65,000 advance. Of that, $50k went to Jam Master Jay and $10k went to an attorney, leaving 50 with $5k. Here’s how he spent it: “I bought crack cocaine with it. How else you gonna provide for yourself? I did 36 songs in 18 days for Columbia. Then I had eight months go by with no work going on.”
4. In mid 2000, 50 was shot nine times—in the face, hand and legs. (What many think is a dimple on his left cheek is actually a bullet wound.) After that, there was the infamous Ja Rule beef, which would span two decades. Needless to say, 50’s drama was too much for Columbia. They cut ties with him before he even released a record.
5. 50 was down, but not out. He recorded 31 new songs—mostly taking beats from existing hits and rapping over them with even better lyrics—and got them into the hands of as many mixtape DJs as possible. The strategy worked, eventually capturing the attention of Eminem, who was so impressed, he flew 50 out to LA to meet with him and Dr. Dre. Not long after, 50 Cent signed a $1 million dollar deal with Shady Records and Aftermath Entertainment, under the Interscope umbrella.
6. You know what happened next. 50’s first album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, made him an international superstar. His smash single “In da Club” would become the most listened to song in any one week stretch in radio history. 50 would eventually form a group called G-Unit with Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck—all of whom he signed to his own sub-label, G-Unit Records. He also got a piece of everything The Game brought in, who he had signed as a joint venture deal with Dr. Dre.
7. In total, 50 sold more than 30 million records. He noticed a trend though: each new album got harder and harder to sell. So he got into acting and began dabbling in business. To date, he’s appeared in over 25 films. Business-wise, he famously got a 10% stake in Vitaminwater before Coca-Cola bought it, netting 50 nearly $100 million dollars.
8. Despite all that, Fiddy filed for bankruptcy in 2015. Now, what most people can’t comprehend is that even wealthy people can declare bankruptcy. The rich use it as a legal loophole that allows them to “hit reset” and try again. Case in point: shortly after his very public bankruptcy, 50 signed a $150 million dollar deal to executive produce (and act in) the popular TV series, Power.
9. 50 Cent has dozens of other business ventures and investments. One that not a lot of people know about (that was incredibly lucrative) was his $78 million dollar deal with a luxury underwear brand called FRIGO Revolution Wear. Other brand ambassadors include NBA star Carmelo Anthony, baseball legend Derek Jeter and former Tempur-Pedic head honcho, Mathias Ingvarsson.
10. 50’s constantly expanding and diversifying his sources of income. He’s involved in talent management; music, film and television production; fashion and footwear; fragrances; liquor; mobile apps; book publishing; health drinks; dietary supplements; headphones; boxing promotion; mining; real estate investments; and more.
Related: Lil Wayne net worth.
