How 50 Cent Went From Broke to a $100 Million Vitaminwater Deal, And What’s Next in His Business World

If you listen to rapper-actor0entrepreneur 50 Cent’s lyrics, you can learn a lot about his rags to riches story. But if you watch how the multihyphenate mogul moves, you’ll see that he’s also giving fans a master class on business and the importance of financial literacy that can be passed on to future generations.

In a recent interview with Rashad Bilal and Troy Billings, hosts of the “Earn Your Leisure” podcast, 50 opened up about how he managed to turn an endorsement deal with Vitaminwater into a $100 million payday.

“I have a disease, it’s called ambition. I contracted it from not having,” the “In Da Club” rapper told the hosts.

That ambition led 50 to seek a bottled water deal in the early 2000s. Chris Lighty, his manager at the time, helped him land a trial endorsement deal with Vitaminwater starting with a 2004 Reebok commercial. It should come as no surprise that 50’s star power helped the company’s sales grow from $100 million to $700 million in just three years and led to a big-time payday for the rapper/actor when Vitaminwater’s parent company Glaceau sold to Coca-Cola in May 2007.

“With the Vitaminwater thing, I didn’t need the money,” he told Rashad and Troy. “When companies approach artists to be a part of the marketing, they’ve reached the financial level where they can commit that marketing, and it’ll move their company to the next level, the notoriety and everything that connects to it. So they make the deal.”

The rapper summed up the essence of his boss move in his hit song, “I Get Money:” “I took quarter water sold it in bottles for two bucks; Coca-Cola came and bought it for billions, what the f***?”

He adds in the interview that the real money came with more equity in the company. He went on to explain how he acquired a larger stake in the company as employees sold him pieces of their stock options so they wouldn’t have to wait for retirement to reap the financial benefit.

But don’t get it twisted, 50 isn’t keeping all of that money for himself. He told Rashad and Troy that he believes in the importance of using his wealth and influence to help others and encourages corporations like Google to do the same.

“[SK Energy] partnered with the United Nations World Food Program and we were able to provide a meal with every energy drink that we sold,” he said. “I think promoting conscious capitalism is the way to solve our issues.”