Blockchain
Rapper 50 Cent Just Discovered He’s a Bitcoin Millionaire
50 Cent’s decision to accept Bitcoin Payouts for his 2014 album “Animal Ambition” earned the Grammy-winning rapper a multimillion-dollar windfall.
Celebrity Gossip Website TMZ News reported that 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, has raked in about 700 bitcoins after agreeing to accept payments in the volatile digital currency for his fifth album. When “Animal Ambition” was released in June 2014, one bitcoin was worth $662. If the report of his 700 bitcoin haul is accurate, that means Jackson made about $460,000 in sales at the time and now holds about $8 million worth of bitcoins, according to Coindesk.
Jackson, one of the first high-profile musicians to accept bitcoin in exchange for music, confirmed his windfall on social media. “Not bad for a South Side boy, so proud of me,” he said in an Instagram post. The rapper later said he had completely forgotten about selling his fifth album for bitcoin until then.
Jackson’s bold decision to sell his music for bitcoin before many of his peers represents a major victory for the rapper. A year later, in 2015, he filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy after some of his other big investments, including an attempt to launch his own line of headphones, went belly up. The musician has since paid off his $23 million debt (See also: 50 Cent is no longer broke)
Some of Jackson’s other investments have also turned into big hits over the years. The rapper was an early investor in Glaceau, the vitamin water company that Coca-Cola Co. (KO) later acquired for $4.1 billion in 2007. When the deal closed, Jackson is believed to have walked away with between $60 million and $100 million.
Now that cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed in popularity, many more musicians are starting to accept cryptocurrency payments for songs. Late last year, cryptocurrency Monero announced that 45 musicians and five online stores had started accepting its coins.
Artists involved in the project include Alice Cooper, Backstreet Boys, Kaskade, Lana Del Rey, The Lumineers, Mariah Carey, Marilyn Manson, Morrissey, Motley Crue, Sia, Slayer and Weezer.