My, how the mighty have fallen. 50 Cent (government name Curtis Jackson), at one point was the hottest thing in pop culture, dropping incendiary hip hop tracks for Interscope/Aftermath with his G-Unit squadron. 50 became one of the wealthiest rappers to ever do it with his business acumen, obtaining a minority stake in Vitamin Water and making somewhere from $60 million to $100 million after Glacéau sold the drink to Coca Cola for $4.1 billion. In May, Fif was ranked #4 on Forbes’ list of wealthiest rappers, with a net worth of $155 million. As of today, 50 has filed for bankruptcy after a string of legal setbacks.
The bankruptcy filing comes three days after 50 Cent lost a lawsuit and was ordered to pay $5 million to the mother of Rick Ross’ children, Lastonia Leviston. She sued him for posted a sex tape featuring her to the masses, while beefing with Ross. This would be a big blow to 50, seeing that he made $8 million in 2014. It is also a considerable loss after he was successfully sued last year for jacking the design of his Sleek Audio headphones. He lost a whopping $17.2 million in that lawsuit.
This does not mean that 50 Cent is broke. Many businesspersons are forced to file for bankruptcy after a few financial setbacks. According to the Wall Street Journal, “In court papers filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, Conn., Mr. Jackson reported assets and debts each in the range of $10 million to $50 million.” He still makes moves, though, including his interest in the TV hit Power (where he is also an actor), which airs on Starz on Saturday nights.