Photo: Matthew Eisman (Getty Images)
Curtis Jackson, better known by his pseudonym – 50 Cent, was one of the most promising young rappers in the early 2000’s. With his most famous single that came out in 2003, In Da Club, he managed to sell the astounding amount of 30 million albums around the world. This fact, along with some very clever investments, made him one of the richest rappers on the scene. Despite this, in recent years, rumors started going around about 50 Cent being broke, but how could this be true? Has he managed to squander all of his enormous wealth? Is 50 Cent broke now?
Early Life
Curtis Jackson was born in 1975 in Queens, in a troubled neighborhood called Little Jamaica. In order to get by, Curtis started dealing drugs when he was just 12 years old. This line of work eventually led to him being shot nine times, in front of his house in 2000, although he had already quit dealing and turned to the music business. Out of those nine bullets, one hit him in the left cheek which made his tongue swell up and affected his speech. That is how he got his trademark slurring rapping style. Curiously enough, Curtis never pressed charges, though his alleged assailant, Darryl Baum, died a few weeks later.
Rise to Fame
The name 50 Cent apparently had two meaning for Jackson. On the one hand, it was a play on words meaning the money a store clerk gives back to you, as well as a change of one’s ways; on the other hand, it was a nickname of a somewhat notorious Brooklyn robber with whom Curtis identified – they both did what they had to do to survive. 50 Cent‘s first huge hit was In Da Club, that was received so well that he sold around 30 million albums and quickly became one of the most promising young rappers. Soon after that, he released a number of well-known hits, both on his own and with his entourage – G-Unit.
Wealth
Over the years, 50Cent accumulated a lot of wealth, not only from his songs but also due to some clever investments. For example, he bought a company called VitaminWater that was eventually sold to Coca-Cola, earning Jackson around 100 million. Besides that, 50 Cent appeared in a number of movies, produced new, promising artists and continued investing in various business ventures. In 2007, he was named the second wealthiest rapper behind, obviously, Jay Z. Eight years later, it was estimated that his net worth was $155 million. People believed that he would go on to make even more money and, possibly beat Jay Z. However, something went wrong apparently.
Bankruptcy
What people didn’t realize, though, is that 50 doesn’t only have a great income, he also has great expenses. Not counting his extravagant lifestyle, he also had a couple of high-profile lawsuits to deal with that punctured his budget. He was forced to pay the outstanding $7 million to a woman named Lastonia Leviston for posting her sex tape without her direct consent. Not only did 50 release it, he also added narration and mocked the girl, for no reason other than that she was associated with his rival, rapper Rick Ross. In 2015, he filed for bankruptcy as his debts of $32.5 million were way over the worth of his assets. He was ordered to pay a large portion of his debt in a couple of huge chunks and he managed to do it easily.
Comeback
However, 50 Cent isn’t actually broke now. In fact, he managed to pull himself out by suing various companies, among them the one which represented him in the sex-tape case. These lawsuits helped him regain some of his money, pay off the debts and start earning properly once again. According to some sources, it was untrue that his assets were below $30 million and that they’re actually worth around $60 million. That, combined with a steady monthly income of nearly $200k means you really shouldn’t worry about Curtis being broke. He’s doing just fine.
To sum up: was 50 Cent broke? Not in the way that you think. It was just a minor setback.
