In the early 2000s, 50 Cent was the rapper to beat. He had a number of hits and quickly skyrocketed to fame. 50 was at the top of his career because of his music and he definitely took advantage of it; as he made a number of business ventures and investments. Of course, he had success with Vitamin Water, and for a while, his clothing line did really well too. However, 50 Cent let his wealth go to his head, and spent his money foolishly.
After a series of legal battles that didn't exactly go 50 Cent's way, and a lot of his business ventures tanking, 50 was forced to file for bankruptcy to help himself dig his way out of the hole he dug himself into. 50 Cent has made a number of money mistakes over the years, however, he's working hard to get out of the mess he made.
10 He Lied About A Bitcoin Fortune
50 Cent has a long history of flaunting his wealth. Back in 2018, there was a lot of talk surrounding the rapper and his involvement with the cryptocurrency, bitcoin. When he released his album, Animal Ambition in 2014, he allowed fans to buy the album using bitcoin. According to 50, he had made about 700 bitcoin on the album and it was sitting in an account untouched.
Apparently, that was the best move for him as 50 Cent gloated on Instagram that the 700 in bitcoin had become between $7 million and $8.5 million as the value of bitcoin had increased. All thanks to some paperwork that the media had acquired, 50 told a court that he had never owned and doesn't own any bitcoins, nor does he have a bitcoin account. As a result, 50 took the good press and rolled with it, even though it wasn't true. Since then, the post was deleted and 50 acknowledged that he didn't have any bitcoin after all.
9 He Filed For Bankruptcy
Back in 2015, the music world and fans of 50 Cent were shocked when he announced that he was filing for bankruptcy. When the rapper filed for chapter 11, he cited that he had approximately $36 million in debt and less than $20 million in assets. As a result, he worked with a judge to create a plan to pay back $23 million of that debt over a period of five years. Thanks to a payout from a legal malpractice lawsuit, 50 Cent was able to pay off his debt a lot faster than the five years allotted time.
8 His Clothing Line Tanked
In the early 2000s, 50 Cent was at the height of his career. He was insanely popular, many loved his music, and he took advantage of his popularity and started a clothing ling called G-Unit Clothing, named after the hip-hop group that he formed. The clothing line was established in 2003 when 50 teamed up with Marc Ecko to bring his line to life. G-Unit Clothing was insanely popular when it first came out, and 50 Cent racked in a lot of cash thanks to it. However, in 2008, he severed ties with Marc Ecko Enterprises, and unfortunately, the line hasn't done as well since. These days, the clothing line that was once in many stores, is only sold online.
7 His Music Career Plummeted
Back at the beginning of 50 Cent's career in the early 2000s, it was like everything he released turned to gold, as it was hit after hit after hit. His success in the hip-hop world earned him a lot of credibility and put him on the map as one of the best rappers at the time. Unfortunately, 50 Cent couldn't stay on top of the music world forever, and sales for his music started steadily declining. in 2014, he released his album Animal Ambition. The album didn't do well at all, and sold under 200,000 copies, compared to five times that with his releases during his peak.
6 He Was Overspending
One of 50 Cent's worst mistakes with his money is simply the way he spends it. He has been known to spend his money foolishly on lavish and over the top things, and that certainly doesn't help his case. According to court documents, he's been known to spend over $3,000 a month on clothing, and about $1,000 on grooming.
He also spends thousands a month on entertainment and dining out, as well as thousands on traveling. Not to mention, 50 pays $14,600 per month to his two children in child support. 50 also has several luxury vehicles like a 2010 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophea which cost him a pretty penny, that's for sure.
5 He Couldn't Afford His House
In 2003 when 50 Cent was raking in the cash, he bought a house in Connecticut that's over 50,000 square feet with 37 bathrooms, 21 bedrooms, a casino, and a nightclub. That's not all — the house also sits on 17 acres and used to be owned by Mike Tyson. Originally, 50 paid $4.1 million for the house and put in over $6 million in upgrades over the years. When 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy he admitted that it costs him about $72,000 a month to maintain and that his utilities alone cost $18,000. Since 2007, 50 Cent has been trying to sell the house, first getting an offer for $18.5 million in 2007, but the deal fell through. He was forced to lower the price and finally sold it in 2019 for just $2.9 million, a fraction of what he paid and put into it.
4 His Boxing Promotions Tanked
Back in 2012, 50 Cent launched his boxing promotion company, SMS Promotions. Originally, all was going well for the rapper and his company, as he signed a number of boxers — that is until things started to go south. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2015 with reportedly having about $100,000 to $500,000 worth of debt. It's safe to say that 50 Cent doesn't always have the best business ventures, as most of them start off as a great business but later plummet.
3 He Lost a Legal Malpractice Lawsuit
At one point, 50 Cent was set to work with the company Sleek Audio to create a headphone collaboration line called "Sleek by 50." Before the headphones could even be created, 50 Cent decided to part ways with the company and move on with the project on his own. He released the line of headphones under another company, however, Sleek Audio alleged that they were the same design that 50 had come up with under their company. As a result, the company sued 50 for "Misappropriating trade secrets, breaching his fiduciary duty owed to Sleek, participating in a civil conspiracy, breaching his confidentiality agreement with Sleek, and being unjustly enriched." As a result, 50 Cent was forced to pay Sleek Audio $11,693,247 in damages as well as $4,488,331 in attorney fees.
2 He Lost A Second Lawsuit
50 Cent got himself in a load of legal trouble when he posted an intimate video online without the person in the video's consent, legally known as revenge porn. The reason 50 posted this alleged video was because of an ongoing beef with fellow rapper and nemesis, Rick Ross. The girl in the video was Lastonia Leviston, who has a daughter with Rick Ross, so you can see the motive behind it. As a result, the jury ruled in Lastonia's favor, and 50 Cent was forced to pay her $5 million because of it.
1 He Used Prop Money On Instagram
50 Cent is known for flaunting his money and tends to do it a lot on social media. After filing for bankruptcy, 50 Cent faced a lot of backlash when he continued to flaunt his wealth on social media that he supposedly didn't have. The picture is 50 with stacks of cash that spell out the word "broke" in the stacks of money. A judge forced 50 Cent to explain the pictures since he claimed to be bankrupt. 50 admitted that the money was just "prop money" that he used to get clout on Instagram.
NEXT: 50 Cent: All The Good And Bad Things Other Celebs Have Said About Him
