Curtis Jackson, popularly known in the entertainment industry as 50 Cent, is an African-American rapper, actor, producer, and entrepreneur from New York. He was born on July 6, 1975, and was raised single-handedly by his mother, Sabrina.
50 Cent moved to stay with his grandparents after the death of his mother, who was a drug dealer. He also took to selling drugs when he was only 12 years old. He was arrested multiple times for drug-related offenses.
The first time 50 Cent was arrested was when he mistakenly brought drugs, drug money, and his gun into school. He was also arrested twice more for selling cocaine to an undercover policeman and for possessing illegal substances and a firearm in his home.
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However, the rapper gained popularity when his underground rap single, “How To Rob,” caught the attention of the late DMX, Jay-Z, and others. Before that, he was taught how to write songs and create choruses by the legendary Jam Master Jay.
When he released another single in the year 2000, he was targeted by an assailant outside his house and shot multiple times in the hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek. His attacker, who was revealed as Darryl Baum, Mike Tyson’s bodyguard, was killed three weeks later.
While healing from the gunshot wounds, 50 Cent signed to Columbia Records but the deal was off the table a year later when he tried to release a song called “Ghetto Qu’ran.” He was subsequently blacklisted by the United States recording industry as a whole, so he went to Canada to record songs for mixtapes to build up his popularity.
He made a big comeback in 2002 when he released the mixtape “Guess Who’s Back?”. Impressed by “Guess who’s Back?”, he was poached by rapper Eminem. 50 Cent was then introduced to Dr.Dre and signed a $1 million record deal and released “No Mercy, No Fear.”
In the year 2003, he released his debut album “Get Rich or Die Trying,” catapulting him to number one on the Billboard charts. He sold a million copies of the album in the first four days after its release.
He subsequently established his own record label known as G-Unit. Since then, 50 Cent has released a number of albums and also ventured into entrepreneurship. Aside from forming G-Unit, he also pursued other business ventures such as acting and forming a boxing promotion firm known as Money Team.
50 Cent, according to Celebrity Net Worth, has a net worth of $30 million but at his peak, he was worth $100 million. Also, the rapper has made a total of $260 million from his various endeavors in the cause of his career, the website further estimated.
In 2015, he filed for bankruptcy after spending lavishly on real estate, cars, and lawsuits. In filing for bankruptcy, 50 Cent’s reported assets valued in the range of $10 million to $50 million. The rapper said he had debts of equal amounts. It turned out that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy was “strategic” as it helped 50 Cent “offset costs” he faced due to a number of lawsuits.
“When you’re successful and stuff, you become a target. I don’t wanna be a bullseye. I don’t want anybody to pick me as the guy that they just come to with astronomical claims and go through all that. I’m taking precautions that any good business person would take in this situation,” the rapper explained.
Other business deals
50 Cent’s main home, which was once owned by boxer Mike Tyson, is valued at $8.25 million. He also has other properties in Atlanta, Long Island, and New Jersey which he has leased. He also became a beverage investor in 2014.
In 2003 and 2008, he founded G-Unit Films and Cheetah Vision respectively. Although G-Unit films has folded, Cheetah Vision is still in operation, and in 2010, the firm secured a $200 million funding.
Aside from his business and entrepreneur success, 50 Cent is also a multiple award winner. In 2013, he was named BET Best New Artist. That same year, he was named Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist at the BRIT Awards.
Other awards include:
· BRIT Awards – International Breakthrough Artist (2004)
· World Music Awards – World’s Best Selling Pop Male Artist (2003, 2005)
· Billboard Music Awards – Top Hot 100 Artist (2005)
· BET Hip-Hop Awards – Hustler of the Year (2007)
· Grammy Awards – Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (Crack a Bottle, 2010)
