You might think that rappers become rich and famous because of royalties on their music or money from concert tours. But one rapper made more money on one investment that on anything he’d done with his music career.
Rapper 50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, got his first taste of fame on a song called “React” with the group named Onyx on their 1998 album, Shut ‘Em Down. He became more popular after the controversial single, “How to Rob”, but his rising star was stopped by a shooting that nearly took his life. He was shot nine times in the arm, hand, hip, chest, both legs, and his his left cheek. Once he recovered, he worked hard and after hooking up with Eminem and G-Unit, he became wildly famous after he released Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
But his decision to become a rapper wasn’t what helped him become so incredibly wealthy. Among all his investments, Jackson’s work with GlacĂ©au to create a vitamin water drink called Formula 50 in return for a minority stake in the company is what turned out to be his wisest move. Coca Cola Company bought Vitamin Water from Glaceau for $4.1 billion and made Jackson more money than he had ever made from making music.
Many celebrities are just like everyone else and they have to make diverse investments. And sometimes, you make the most money not from doing what you love, but from doing something that just happened to work out. In this case, NOT focusing on your goal 100%, which can usually be considered a failure, was the secret to success.