Famous musicians don’t always have millions of dollars in the bank. Take rapper 50 Cent, for example. Many Tennessee music lovers are familiar with 50 Cent’s work, but in reality, the rapper supposedly doesn’t even have 50 cents to spare. The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, owes creditors more than $28 million and has recently filed for bankruptcy.
As of late, Jackson has faced a couple financial challenges, namely, multi-million dollar lawsuits, that have contributed to his debt. He was sued by Sleek Audio for allegedly copying the designs of the company’s headphones. He lost the lawsuit and now owes the company $18.4 million. He is trying to appeal the decision, but has been unsuccessful thus far.
Jackson lost another lawsuit recently when he was ordered to pay a woman $5 million for humiliating her. He had doctored up her private sex tape and posted it online. Besides the $5 million, he could be ordered to pay punitive damages as well.
Once known as one of hip-hop’s richest stars, Jackson also owes $1 million in legal bills, $137,880 for his Bentley car and just over $1,700 to his grandfather. Very few details have been disclosed about his assets, but they allegedly do not exceed $15 million.
Even celebrities face money problems, and when debt becomes too overwhelming, bankruptcy is a viable option. Bankruptcy can help eliminate excessive debt and offer consumers a fresh start. It does affect one’s credit score negatively, however, so it may be a good idea in some cases to exhaust all possible options, such as negotiation and consolidation, before committing to such a huge decision.
Source: New York Daily News, “Rapper 50 Cent claims he’s broke, laying out $28M of personal debts in federal Bankruptcy Court filing,” Barbara Ross, July 16, 2015
