No More Luxury Watches for 50 Cent
For the last decade rapper 50 Cent has been living large, driving Ferraris and flaunting diamond-studded luxury watches. Now the 40-year-old star has filed for bankruptcy, admitting that his entire lifestyle has been a sham.
The public image of 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, has been about driving around in expensive cars from one club to another, dropping thousands of dollars in one night, always dressed in designer duds and draped in diamonds. It all sounds glamorous but now the star has confessed that it was all a sham. As the rapper put it, “It’s entertainment,” adding that his Bentley and Ferrari were rented and his shiny swag was borrowed.
Now that free-spending lifestyle has caught up with 50 Cent as he filed for bankruptcy earlier this month and faces a $5 million lawsuit over unauthorized use of a sexy video. The financially strapped rapper told Conan O’Brien, “I need protection.” He added, “You look like you’re doing okay… I gotta be frank with you… You know, you get a bullseye pinned on my back. When you’re successful, and you’re publicly known, you become the ideal person for people to have lawsuits for.”
While Forbes financial experts had estimated the rapper’s worth at $155 million, his lawyer claims his client is down to $4.4 million, a number that is rapidly dwindling due to unpaid debts and the aforementioned lawsuit.
The lesson here is that all that glitters is not gold—especially when it comes to the conspicuous consumption common to celebrities. As 50 Cent explained, “The hip-hop culture is aspirational. It’s like music videos… you see all these fancy cars but everything goes back to the dealership.”
So the next time you admire a Rolex or Cartier watch worn by an A-lister on the red carpet, remember that it may be going back to the jeweler after the party is over.
