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How 50 Cent's Success In Music Helped Him Eventually Make $10 Million a Movie

The Grammy-winning rapper didn't break into the world of showbiz overnight. "I paid myself to learn how to participate in those projects," he says.
UPDATED JAN 22, 2024
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Jamie McCarthy
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Jamie McCarthy

After over two decades in the music industry, American rapper 50 Cent has learned a thing or two about success. The Grammy-winning rapper didn't break into the world of showbiz overnight. In an interview with Vulture, he said how his earlier success as a musician helped him break into Hollywood.

"One of the unwritten laws of power is to appear not to need anything," he said. "Because everybody will do you a favor when you don’t need it."



 

Curtis James Jackson III, popular as 50 Cent, met with movie producer Avi Lerner when he was already a millionaire, all thanks to his rap career. 

Jackson said that as he was "in a financial place I didn’t need one thing from him", and Lerner was able to talk openly with him about the business.

"Because I was interested in what he had developed as a business, he was excited by my interest," he said. "He offered probably more than the average person."

Jackson said that those conversations allowed him to "understand Hollywood".

He soon started his own production company Cheetah Vision, which has amassed $200 million in financing from people.  

The films have low budgets that really permitted him to only focus on gaining experience. He said, "I got paid almost $10 million on each one of those films. So I paid myself to learn how to participate in those projects."

Getty Images | Marcus Ingram
Getty Images | Marcus Ingram

50 Cent is a celebrated American rapper, actor, and entrepreneur. He was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, and raised in its South Jamaica neighborhood by his mother, who was a drug dealer. She died in a fire when he was only 8. After his mother's passing, he was raised by his grandparents. 

Jackson began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over instrumentals. In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay who then taught him to count bars, write choruses and structure songs. In 2002, Eminem heard Jackson's Guess Who's Back? and invited him to fly to Los Angeles and introduced him to Dr. Dre, Eminem's mentor.

50 Cent then went on to release his own debut album, " Get Rich or Die Tryin".

50 Cent is known for his smart investments, mansions, supercars, and more. He once made news for purchasing Mike Tyson's old mansion which featured 21 bedrooms, a gym, a casino, and a nightclub for a whopping $4.1 million. His huge collection of cars features Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Rolly Royce among others. He also owns a custom Versace-wrapped Lamborghini Aventador, the one that Snoop Dogg liked very much.

What Is 50 Cent's Net Worth?

Getty Images | Steven Ferdman
Getty Images | Steven Ferdman

As of June 2023, 50 Cent's net worth is estimated to be $40 million, as per Wealthy Gorilla. He earned more than $250 million in his career from chart-topping albums to singles and also his business ventures. 

50 Cents has his record label, G Unit Records. He also launched a G-Unit clothing company, as well as a boxing promotion company The Money Team in 2012.

He has also stepped into the world of movies and appeared with superstars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Another deal that made him more money than many of his albums was a small stake in Vitamin Water that was later acquired by CocaCola. The rapper made an impressive, $100-$150 million.

However, his fortunes dropped due to his extravagant lifestyle, with the star even submitting a bankruptcy filing in July 2015.

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