50 Cent is almost a billionaire: How he's building an empire for his son

Curtis Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, is rich. “Very, very rich,” he says with a smile. That smile has been on his face since he first stepped foot in the lobby of Us Weekly magazine that harsh summer day.

No one should be surprised by his wealth. His debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', released 23 years ago, remains the best-selling rap debut of all time. Last year, his Final Lap Tour sold more than $100 million in tickets, a record so far set by only one other act (Drake).

It’s just music. There are equally staggering numbers to be cited in the TV and film projects Jackson produces and the brands and products he’s endorsed. At 49, 50 Cent does a lot and earns a lot more — but it wasn’t always that way.

Born in South Jamaica, Queens, his mother died when he was 8. By 12, he was selling drugs. He never met his father. His survival was uncertain.

Jackson’s son, Sire, is himself 12. (His mother is 50-year-old ex-girlfriend Daphne Joy Narvaez.) His life consists of video games, fights with his father (“I’ll throw him on the couch, he’s having the time of his life”) and schooling in the empire he’ll one day inherit. After all, Jackson’s Sire Spirits name is, and will be, his son’s.

In the entertainment space, Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+ and BET are among the networks working with Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television on dozens of shows. His new FAST channel with Lionsgate, 50 Cent Action, will launch later this year with Starz’s entire Power series (from G-Unit, of course), a sampling of ’50s films and more. Starz has been home to Jackson’s Power universe with Power: Book I Ghost, Book II Raising Kanan, Book III Force and the upcoming Book IV Origins. Also on Starz: his hit BMF franchise (with spinoffs coming soon) and a docuseries that has already aired, plus four shows in development.

“I think the fact that TV is free is a huge step forward,” he says. (Let the fans go wild!) And G-Unit Studios, a production facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, is well on its way. It will be the second-largest black-owned production facility in the world, behind only Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. By the time you read this, Jackson will have hosted Shreveport’s Humor & Harmony Weekend, a four-day festival filled with talent he’s recruited, from Monica to Keith Sweat, Cam’ron to Flo Rida. Proceeds will benefit his G-Unity Foundation.

How does he do it? He claims to only need four hours of sleep. And then there’s this: In January, he said on Instagram that he was “practicing abstinence…and focusing on my goals.” When asked about his progress, he slyly replies, “Well, I did it for as long as I could.” But the money kept rolling in! Here he is (figuratively) opening his wallet in the latest issue of Us.

Shayan Asgharnia/AUGUST

You've made millions. Hundreds of millions. Are you a billionaire yet?

I don't quantify money like that, I quantify the level of success and victories that I've achieved. I've far exceeded everyone's expectations. I think my longevity and perseverance in the industry has surprised a lot of people, but that's what motivates me more. [Besides,] I'm in no rush to become a billionaire. I've reached a point where I don't want anything I don't have. Why rush? I've bought every car I wanted, multiple times.

Are things changing for billionaires? No more cigars? No more watches? You just spent $5 million on a Rolex!

When people publicly say you're a billionaire, they're coming for what you have. The IRS could suddenly decide they want 58% of your money. Ambulance chasers, lawyers… it's an army coming after you. Then you're going to have to protect yourself because you've got deep pockets.

Becoming a billionaire won’t be much different than who I am today. At that point, you have to figure out how to give back. You start building a legacy, doing more sophisticated things. People will remember people who helped others more than they will remember people who simply accumulated wealth. They will ask themselves, “How did he help others? What did his success matter if he didn’t impact other people’s lives?”

Related: Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Other Billionaire Celebrities

While many celebrities are very, very rich, only a handful have actually reached billionaire status. The 10-figure club is primarily comprised of entrepreneurs and business moguls, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos. Celebrities who breathe this rarefied air have typically diversified their portfolios to include all manner of partnerships, investments, and […]

If not billionaire, what word or phrase would you like people to use to describe you?

Very rich. Because rich means you've surrounded yourself with good people, you're happy, you're living a quality life. And that's the main thing.

One person who clearly makes you happy is your son Sire. Will all this be for him one day?

That's the idea. What's left of me will be there for him to run with. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about.

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Do you teach Sire everything about business?

When can I get him away from gaming? Yeah, that's what I talk to him about. I don't want to overwhelm him or give him too much stuff that makes it feel like you're pressuring him to understand things he doesn't understand. [ready for]. So it's really a basic thing, because he's young, he's 12 years old. I was already in the race when I was his age. [Laughs.] I had much more experience.

But he looks [Sire Spirits] as if it were his company. The real stars of the teams [we’ve partnered with, like the Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards] attract the child's attention, and then he will recognize himself in it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your ambition and motivation?

I average around an 8. Sometimes I get sidetracked and need to refocus to get back on track and get closer to a 10, but it's important to give yourself time to stop and enjoy accomplishments. And I frequently move my goals as I reach new levels of success.

Let’s talk about our current projects. One that’s getting a lot of buzz is a Netflix docuseries about Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is facing lawsuits for sexual abuse, rape, and sex trafficking. [Combs has denied the allegations.] What makes you the right producer for this high-profile title?

I'm the only person in hip-hop culture who's produced a TV hit. Why wouldn't I be the person to produce it? And I'm not on the soundtracks. [Party videotapes were reportedly found after search warrants were executed on Diddy’s homes.] See, some people who have lived in this culture don't say anything, it's because they went to parties, [and] they don't know what part of their experiences are being recorded. So it keeps them quiet and it seems like I'm the only guy, but I've been [saying] for years something has been wrong.

Let's move on to the books: The Accomplice, the first volume of a fiction series, arrives this fall. What do you need to know?

This is the first time I've launched a book that I know will be made into a film. [Coauthor] Aaron Philip Clark is an incredible, award-winning mystery writer. There is a woman in the lead role, the first African-American Texas Marshal. I sent the synopsis to Regina Hall so she could read it.

Vera Anderson/WireImage

What was your motivation for creating G-Unit Studios? Why did you invest so much in production?

Thanks to what I do in film and television, as an executive producer on these projects, I can now provide production services. I now have a physical studio to create without restrictions. [In music,] As soon as you have the money to have your own recording equipment, you do it, you don't have a boss and you can go to work. Well, in the film and television business, you always have to answer to someone. Once the facilities are up and running, I don't answer to anyone anymore.

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You are also committed to the Shreveport community.

A lot of the things you have to see before you get to the studio weren't active. So I thought, how do you do it? [visit] and to say that you enjoyed being there if those things don't work out? So I started buying up the properties along that boardwalk. I know Vegas is successful just on one strip, right? And then if I bring that back to life, I think it will completely bring the city back to life. The bigger the challenges that come my way, the more excited I get.

For more from 50 Cent, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.

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