Over the last few days, a bunch of CelebrityNetWorth readers have alerted us to a headline that is making the rounds related to rapper/actor/entrepreneur/social-media-shitposter, 50 Cent. The headline goes something like this:
"Rapper 50 Cent Nearing Billionaire Status"
That's news to us. We currently estimate 50 Cent's net worth to be $40 million. Could our estimate possibly be off by $960-ish million?
And by the way, just to be clear: The article below is not being written by a hater. I am personally a big fan of 50 Cent. Over the years, I have written dozens of articles about 50 Cent, covering his impressive entrepreneurial endeavors. I still own my CD of "Get Rich or Die Tryin," even though I don't even have a CD player anymore, and I generally find him to be really funny on social media. But "nearing billionaire status"? I was a little skeptical when I first saw the headlines. I was very skeptical after I dug in and figured out where this all came from…
(Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
Origin of the Headline
Let's just jump straight in. Over the last few days, dozens of fairly reputable outlets, notably Complex, The Source, Black Enterprise, BET, Vibe, and Newsweek, published articles whose headlines declare something like "50 Cent is Nearly a Billionaire."
When you pull on the string, each of these headlines can be traced to an article from… of all places… celebrity gossip rag US Weekly. I'm not going to link to the article because I don't want to give it more attention, but US Weekly's original headline is:
"50 Cent Is on the brink of Billionaire Status: How He's Building an Empire for His Son (Exclusive)"
The headline used on the cover of the magazine version of US Weekly is slightly different:
"50 Cent Exclusive: How I Got VERY Rich"
With these four sub-headers:
- Inside his journey from the streets to one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world
- How he made it – and how he spends it
- "I'm building an empire for my son"
- Plus: IS HE REALLY CELIBATE?!
50 tweeted out the magazine cover:
Check me out on the cover of Us weekly 💣BOOM💨 let's work we got work to do, I'm focused let's get it! https://t.co/jnbpt4Vpb3 pic.twitter.com/sY1c3fpZdd
— 50cent (@50cent) August 14, 2024
The article features a written and video interview with 50 Cent. The very first question posed is:
"You've made millions. Hundreds of millions. Are you a billionaire yet?"
Here's 50's reply:
"I don't quantify the money like that — I quantify the level of successes and wins I've achieved. I have far exceeded anyone's expectations of me. I think my longevity and staying power in the industry have surprised many, but that's what drives me further. [Besides,] I'm not in a hurry to reach billionaire status. I've reached a point where I don't want anything I don't have. What's the rush? I've bought every car I wanted, multiple times over."
Next question:
"Do things change at billionaire level? More cigars? More watches? You just dropped $5 million on a Rolex!"
"When people publicly say you're a billionaire, they come for what you have. The IRS might suddenly decide they want 58 percent of your money. The ambulance chasers, the attorneys — it's an army of 'em after you. Then you'd have to protect yourself because you have deep pockets.
Being a billionaire won't be much different from where I am now. At that point, you have to figure out how to give back. You start building a legacy, doing more sophisticated things. People remember those who helped others more than those who just accumulated wealth. They'll ask, "How did he benefit others? How significant was his success if it didn't affect other people's lives?"
In the next question, the interviewer relents that he's not a billionaire and asks:
"If not billionaire, what's the word or phrase you'd like people to use when describing you?"
To which, 50 replies:
"Very rich. Because rich would mean that you've surrounded yourself with good people, that you're happy, that you're living a high quality of life. And that's the important part."
The rest of the interview focuses on 50's his media projects, the lessons he teaches his son, a fictional book series he's releasing later this year, his production studio, and his philanthropic efforts. But please note that at no point does 50 Cent claim to be a billionaire, on the brink of being a billionaire, on nearly a billionaire! The most he says is that he's "very rich."
50 Cent's actual answers are all really thoughtful and great. I love his point of view on building a legacy, thinking about impacting other people, and looking at his longevity as a mark of success. Those are great goals that we should all take to heart. But, to beat a dead horse, at no point does he say he's nearly a billionaire. And yet, somehow, that's what the headline turned out to be, and that's what US Weekly's Twitter account shared, which 50 then re-shared:
👀I don't want this to make you think I don't need a discount, 😳because I want a discount. LOL • https://t.co/jnbpt4VX0B pic.twitter.com/AC1xRlE7lz
— 50cent (@50cent) August 14, 2024
Again, I'm not writing this just to be a hater. As a person who makes their living writing articles about celebrities becoming really rich, the story of 50 Cent going from mogul, to being bankrupt to earning billionaire status in just a few years would be such amazing content. But when you strip it down, in addition to being loose on facts, this US Weekly article feels very PR-team manufactured. Some additional observations:
The interview was not conducted by an US Weekly staff reporter. The author, Brian J. Roberts, appears to be one of 50's friends/business associates. It's the first and only article Brian J. Roberts has ever written for US Weekly. The cover image of Brian's Twitter page is a photo of him interviewing… 50 Cent… from August 2023. Most of Brian's Tweets are interviews with 50 Cent. They aren't bad interviews by any means. I don't mean to knock the guy. But the two are obviously friends at the very least, perhaps even business associates somewhere in 50's media conglomerate.
I debated whether or not to use this analogy but fuck it, here goes 🙂
This article feels like I got my buddy to interview me and ask questions like:
- "I hear you have one of the biggest penises in the world?"…
- "So what's life like when you have such a huge penis?"…
And even though I politely dodge each direct question, the article gets published with the headline "Meet the Guy Who has one of the Largest Penises in the World… (Exclusive)!" Of course I then modestly and humbly share the article on all my socials 🙂
