Congratulations are in order for Tyler Perry, as Forbes has named him the newest billionaire among those in Hollywood.
On Tuesday, the magazine announced that the Black filmmaker has joined the elite and exclusive club after estimating his net worth at $1 billion, CBS News reported.
Perry is known for his star role as Medea, in addition to his many movies based on the character. His journey from rags to riches is something that has driven his ambition to own everything he puts his hands on.
“I love when people say you come from ‘humble beginnings,'” the 51-year-old entertainer told Forbes. “[It] means you were poor as hell.”
Adding, “Ownership, changes everything.” He is the proud owner of 22 featured films, two dozen stage plays, over 1,200 television episodes, and an Atlanta-based studio that spreads across 330 acres of land.
Perry has been getting PAID! The publication provided a detailed breakdown, which shows how he reached the billion-dollar feat, starting with $300 million in cash and investments and a $60 million stake in BET+. Among other assets are his Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming homes, which are valued at $40 million. Forbes attributes 320 million of his fortune to his library of work and his new studio complex, which is the largest film production site in the United States and is worth $280 million.
Given all the sources of income, Forbes has estimated that Perry has earned over $1.4 billion in pretax dollars over the past 15 years. Nothing short of remarkable or inspirational for Perry, who is a high school drop out with no formal education on how to become a businessman.
“You got to understand, I had no mentors,” Perry told Forbes. “My father doesn’t know anything about business, and my uncles and mother, they know nothing about this. I didn’t go to business school. Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned in progress.”
Perry now has “a clear path to future membership” in the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans.
And he has no plans to stop, in fact, he has “plans to build restaurants, shops and an entertainment complex” on his studio lot. He told Forbes he wants to begin financing productions from Black creators who are often overlooked in Hollywood, and he told “CBS This Morning” he is building a compound for trafficked women, homeless women, and LGBTQ youth who are displaced.
“I’ll tell you what I’m most excited about next is pulling this next phase off,” Perry told Gayle King. “Somewhere on these 330 acres, where they’re trained in the business, and they become self-sufficient. They live in nice apartments. There’s daycare. There’s all of these wonderful things that allows them to reenter society. And then pay it forward again.”
A spot well earned.
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