Curtis Jackson, better known as the rapper 50 Cent, started out as a drug dealer. Since then, he has had a platinum album and more recently gotten into investing.
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In 2004 he became a spokesperson for beverage company Glaceau, and they paid him with a share in the company. When Coca-Cola bought the company in 2005 for $4.1 billion, 50 Cent made over a hundred million.
50 Cent and H&H Imports
In 2010 50 Cent was involved with a company called H&H Imports, which launched through the TV show Shark Tank. The company was making 50 Cent’s brand of headphones named Sleek By 50. More than a little similar to Beats By Dre, they did not sell nearly as well. The company was losing a lot of money and was near bankruptcy.
50 Cent put his skills at pushing a product to work here. He bought over 12% of the H&H shares and then made an audacious move. After a couple weeks, 50 went on Twitter. He told his fans that H&H had:
“HNHI is the stock symbol for TVG sleek by50 is one of the 15 products this year. If you get in technically I work for you. BIG MONEY”
People bought into this and other similar tweets and bought over 9 million shares of the stock. He also made another tweet a little later about his involvement with the company and how people should do their own research. However, by then it was too late for most people. Also tellingly, he deleted the original tweets telling fans to buy the stock.
The scheme drove up the price and 50 Cent cashed out, leaving his fans holding the bag as prices fell. He made an estimated $10 million. The SEC investigated him for it, but nothing came of it.
After this shady H&H move, some would call what has since happened poetic justice. He lost a lawsuit claiming he stole the design for Sleek By 50 headphones. Even worse, he had no choice but to declare bankruptcy in 2015.
