50 Cent
Credit: 50 Cent
Many years ago, teenager Curtis Jackson was selling drugs and getting arrested. By the time he was 25, he got shot nine times and nearly lost his life. Today Jackson AKA 50 Cent has an estimated net worth of $155 million. What happened? In 2003, 50 Cent released his first album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and sold 872,000 copies in the first week. Afterward, he established his own record label, G-Unit Records along with his own production company, G-Unit Films. By the end of 2004, he launched his own flavor with VitaminWater called “Formula 50”. In 2007, Coca-Cola bought VitaminWater for $4.1 billion. In 2010 he sold a multi-project deal to six networks including Power on STARZ. In 2011, 50 Cent launched Street King energy drinks and used a portion of sales to help provide food for the starving masses in Africa. If only others would follow his lead!