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Tyler Perry’s Net Worth

Tyler Perry's Net Worth

We love to share celebrity net worth information with you here. However, usually we’re talking about people earning in the millions of dollars. That’s not the case when it comes to discussing Tyler Perry’s Net Worth. This man is a billionaire. It’s impressive, mostly because it’s all by his own doing. Forbes reports that Perry was a “once-homeless playwright raised in poverty in New Orleans” who is now on a “clear path to future membership in The Forbes 400.” How did he get there?

Who is Tyler Perry?

If you’ve seen the Madea character movies, particularly “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”, then you know who Tyler Perry is. However, if that’s all that you know him for then you’re truly missing out. He’s an amazing creative talent with a diverse array of credits to his name. IMDB has him listed with nearly five dozen writing credits. Additionally, they’ve listed him with:

  • 60 producer credits
  • 56 director credits
  • 45 acting credits
  • 155 credits performing as himself (doing interviews and such)
  • And additional credits as composer, soundtrack, art department, additional crew and more
Tyler Perry

Image by ©buzzfuss/123RF.COM

Tyler Perry Early Life

According to IMDB, he was born in September 1969. His given name is Emmitt Perry Jr. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Forbes explains that he grew up in poverty with an abusive father who he later learned wasn’t his biological father after all. He had a close relationship with his mother, attending church with her weekly. In order to cope with their stressors, he would pass the time trying to make his mom laugh by doing impersonations.

Perry dropped out of high school. However, he did everything he could to get an education. He recalls early on getting inspired by an Oprah show to start writing out his feelings. He began writing plays and started touring in small theaters with his work. Sometimes, he did what he had to in order to get a foot in the door. For example, Forbes reports that he worked for a time at the Windsor Court Hotel which held the National Association of Television Program Executives. Although he was just a twenty-something hotel staff member, he would sneak badges that event-goers left behind so he can get in and see what was going on. HE soaked up all of the knowledge he could.

Tyler Perry’s Early Work

Obviously, he worked a variety of odd jobs to get by while still continuing to write his plays. He sold cars. He worked as a bill collector. Yet all the while he worked on scripts, some of which began to sell. He saved every cent that he could and eventually was able to rent space at an Atlanta community theater. It was there that he showcased his first play, “I Know I’ve Been Changed,” which is the story of surviving child abuse. His work wasn’t easily received. He lived in his car while working on the production. He did all the work himself from set design to snack bar sales.

After that, Tyler began touring with his plays. And that’s when something really interesting happened. The Black community began to take notice of him. In particular, Oprah Winfrey noticed him. It had come full circle; her show had inspired him to write and now she was taking notice of what he wrote. She reportedly didn’t typically like touring plays but really connected with his work. She invited him onto her show when he was in early 20s. And she gave him the most important advice ever or Tyler Perry’s Net Worth.

Oprah’s secret: own and control everything that you make. All of it. Forbes reports that’s how he ended up becoming so financially successful.

Tyler Perry with Oprah Winfrey

Image via ©buzzfuss/123RF.COM

Tyler Perry’s Net Worth Is Because He Owns His Work

Forbes reports that thanks to this ingenious insider tip, Perry “owns the entirety of his creative output.” This includes:

  • 22 feature films
  • 1200+ television episodes
  • 2 dozen or more stage plays

Oh, and he doesn’t have a noncompete agreement, so he can keep making (and owning) more content.

Tyler Perry Additional Income and Earnings

So, he owns all of that which means he makes all of the money off of it. Additionally, this has given him leverage to earn income directly from the people and organizations that want to work with him. For example, ViacomCBS pays him $150 million per year for new content. That’s annual income! Many of the celebrities we share on this site have net worth right around that. For Tyler Perry, that’s just a year’s paycheck for one job. Additionally, he has equity stake in the streaming service BET+, also owned by ViacomCBS.

Some additional interesting earnings income that add to Tyler Perry’s net worth:

  • Although you might know him from his movies and TV shows, he made more than $150 million in theater ticket sales, merchandise, and video performances before he ever made a film or show
  • His break into TV wasn’t easy. However, he succeeded in 2006 when CW bought “House of Payne.” TBS saw how well the show was doing and offered to give him $200 million to bring the show to them. They guaranteed they would air 90 new episodes and, true to form, Perry would own the content.
  • He wanted to turn “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” into a film. (It was first a play.) However, Hollywood at the time didn’t think his work would hold up (primarily out of racist ignorance about what audiences would want to see.) Perry proposed that he himself would pay half the money up front, collect half the profits, and maintain control of the content. In exchange, Lionsgate would put up the other half, and they retained the right to deduct 12.5% in distribution costs as well as any marketing costs. Tyler Perry bet himself and he won big. The film grossed over $50 million in theaters. More importantly, it’s made more than $150 million in post-theater sales. Remember, he owns that content.
  • Forbes says he’s earned more than $1.4 billion in pretax income in the past 15 or so years.

Tyler Perry Assets

Forbes reports that Tyler Perry owns:

  • Bicoastal homes: one in Los Angeles and one in New York. Business Insider reports that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stayed in the $18 million home while settling in the US.
  • An additional home in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • And a fourth home in Wyoming
  • He also owns two airplanes.

Additionally, he owns Tyler Perry Studios, a 33–acre studio lot. He paid $30 million for it. Then he paid another $250 million in additions. However, since he owns it all, it aids in his returns on all filming. Furthermore, he can rent the studio space out to others for cash. Moreover, he purchased it at a smart time when Georgia tax breaks were in his favor.

Tyler Perry’s Net Worth: $1 Billion

And with lots of growth potential!

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Notes From Elon Musk’s Wife: What It Takes To Become a Billionaire

what it takes to become a billionaire

Justine Musk isn’t known for being in the spotlight very often, however, it seems she is rather insightful about her ex-husband’s success. After seeing Elon become the founder of PayPal as well as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Justine has an idea of what it takes to become a billionaire.

Elon Musk’s Net Worth

Currently, Elon Musk is estimated to have a net worth of $12.1 billion. Much of this has obviously stemmed from his business endeavors directly. Although Tesla hasn’t been wildly profitable, the company is still doing extremely well.

Justine was by Elon’s side until 2008 when the couple parted ways, making her privy to the “secrets” of becoming a billionaire. Recently, she responded to a Quora thread asking the following question: Will I become a billiaonaire if I am determined to be one and put in all the necessary work required?

What Does It Take To Be a Billionaire?

Musk’s former wife answered the question fairly simply with “no.” However, she believes the person asking the question is focused on the wrong things. She continued her response by saying.

Justine MuskYou’re determined. So what? You haven’t been racing naked through shark-infested waters yet. Will you be just as determined when you wash up on some deserted island, disoriented and bloody and ragged and beaten and staring into the horizon with no sign of rescue?

Shift your focus away from what you want (a billion dollars) and get deeply, intensely curious about what the world wants and needs. Ask yourself what you have the potential to offer that is so unique and compelling and helpful that no computer could replace you, no one could outsource you, no one could steal your product and make it better and then club you into oblivion (not literally). Then develop that potential. Choose one thing and become a master of it. Choose a second thing and become a master of that. When you become a master of two worlds (say, engineering and business), you can bring them together in a way that will a) introduce hot ideas to each other, so they can have idea sex and make idea babies that no one has seen before and b) create a competitive advantage because you can move between worlds, speak both languages, connect the tribes, mash the elements to spark fresh creative insight until you wake up with the epiphany that changes your life.The world doesn’t throw a billion dollars at a person because the person wants it or works so hard they feel they deserve it. (The world does not care what you want or deserve.)

The world gives you money in exchange for something it perceives to be of equal or greater value: something that transforms an aspect of the culture, reworks a familiar story or introduces a new one, alters the way people think about the category and make use of it in daily life. There is no roadmap, no blueprint for this; a lot of people will give you a lot of advice, and most of it will be bad, and a lot of it will be good and sound but you’ll have to figure out how it doesn’t apply to you because you’re coming from an unexpected angle. And you’ll be doing it alone, until you develop the charisma and credibility to attract the talent you need to come with you. Have courage. (You will need it.)

And good luck. (You’ll need that too.)

Closing Word of Advice

Certainly, not everyone will become a billionaire in their lives. What matters is the amount of hard work and passion that you put into it. Quality over quantity and knowing that you live gratefully being able to provide for your family with your paychecks. Remember to keep your pay stubs safe because they are important documents. You can make your own pay stubs with the online paystub maker.

All in all, becoming a billionaire does take some hard work. But no matter how determined you are to have that dollar amount in your bank account, you will need to develop potential and have the courage to reach your goals. Oh, and as Justine pointed out, having a little luck on your side won’t hurt either!

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