Tyler Perry, I don't know a lot of bottom, but I know that he's a baller.

Yeah. And he's incredibly talented.

So what's cool about Tyler Perry is, like, One, he's a billionaire, but I mean, not a ton of people are billionaires, but, like,

he is, I think, an unexpected billionaire in the sense that

Some people haven't even heard his name. Right? And there's a lot more people who you would think are

more well known, who at least at first glance, have done more things, but he's done a ton of things. But just to compare it, you're like, okay, a billion dollars. Like, he works in, you know, in the,

movie slash TV slash

play industry. So, like, okay. That doesn't sound so crazy, but, like, Taylor Swift, guess what her net worth was. I pulled this earlier this year, so it's probably way higher. Maybe what? Fifty?

So three sixty five million. Oh my god. Leo. Leo Decaprio. How much do you think his net worth is? A hundred.

Two sixty. Serena Williams?

Is Serena the oldest or the youngest?

She's the

she's the younger one. Penis is the ultimate. Two hundred?

Yeah. So two twenty five. Anyway, I shared those because But what are those what are those, what's that source?

I don't know. I mean, some some site on Google. So, yeah, take it with a grain of salt. Dude, those sites are bullshit. I if you Google, like, I I tested this. If you Google a couple people's net worth, some of my personal websites come up number one, and I just made this shit up. And I've seen people cite it.

Well, I yeah. I mean, definitely take it with a grain of salt because I've definitely googled so before, and you'll see someone. And one site will be like, their net worth is like fifty k in another site. It'll be like, their net worth is fifty million. So it's It definitely, you know, can vary. My point is. I've through the podcast, I've met one or two, like, celebrities who if you Google, they'll be like, yeah, they're worth ten or fifteen, and I've talked to them. They're like, I wish

They're like, I got they're like, I make, like, a hundred thousand dollars a year.

Yeah. Okay. So

Tyler Perry is, like, At least, I think he was, like, written about by several different publications. I think they verified. He's a billionaire. I believe with him. With him, I believe it because he's on the Forbes list.

Yes. Exactly. So basically is very reputable for that for that reason.

His story is awesome because he basically I mean, he didn't start out with much. So he used to when he was younger, he used to watch his dad subcontract, and his dad would make eight hundred bucks. And the person who he's contracting for with, like, net eighty thousand. And he remembers thinking at the time, like, I always knew there was more power in the man that owned the house rather than the man working on building it. So I wanted to be the guy who owned the house. So he, like, very early on understood

the principle and the importance of ownership. And he had a and he had he had a messed up childhood. I think he was molested a little bit. I think his dad was abusive. This guy went through a lot. Yeah. And he was also a high school dropout. So when he dropped out of high school, he was, you know, he was doing a bunch of different odd jobs. He struggled to pay rent, He was a bill collector. He sold cars. Like, he did all types of stuff.

But eventually, he saved up enough, which was twelve k to rent an Atlanta community theater. So this was his first bet. He basically wrote this play himself. It was called, I know, have been changed,

and he started running this play. And you're probably thinking like, oh, okay. Overnight success, no. It was really bad at first. And he struggled to pay rent. And,

He actually worked on this play for over a decade. He produced the play. He sold the tickets. He designed the set. He sold the snacks. So he was, like, doing the whole thing because

no one else would invest in him at the time. But over that decade, I think the play got better. He, like, reined in his chops.

And, basically, throughout that decade period. He sold over a hundred million in theater tickets, twenty million in merch, and thirty million in just the videos of the plays, because, again, he owned the IP. So he can actually make money. He he was just making plays, like, like, interesting plays, and which sounds simple, but that's, like, in itself.

Crazy. So he made these wonderful plays and was it, like, he made a bunch and then they went to different and they, like, Did he like literally tour and just make like fifty grand a night through

like hosting it in Atlanta and then Nashville and then like Chicago or wherever?

I think that it was just this one play. I know I've been changed, but I do think they they did, like, several tours. And it actually one of the one of the different theaters that he eventually ended up at. So remember, he was just at this, like, Atlantic Community Theatre to start. He ended up, you know, at the acclaimed Fox Theatre. So he, like, moved his way up, and I think this one play I know have been changed

kind of helped unlock some things for him. So that was his start. He started with plays. But even then, you know, that hundred plus million, a lot of that was in theater tickets. I don't know how much profit he made from The next thing is he basically said, okay. I wanna And that and then and that was a hundred million in over ten years?

Yes. Exactly. So it was over, like, a long period of time. That's amazing though. And so, basically, he wanted to create, I think, a movie next.

And it he basically wanted to create it was called, like, the diary of a mad black woman, which, is pretty funny. And and he definitely knows his audience, Right? So he he's definitely, like, tailored his career towards,

you know, an audience that he understands really well. But when he wanted to create this, he basically

be, like, no one would take him up on it. He's looking for a distributor.

And the only people that will take him up on it and act as his distributor was lionsgate.

But even then Landscape was like, we're not so sure. So, basically, Tyler had to put up half the money. He said, look, like, you know, if I if if this is what it takes, like, I'll put up half the money. And How much was it? The nice thing about that. I'm not sure how much it was, actually. But,

the great thing about that deal, which you'll see throughout every deal he does. So the budget, by the way, the budget was five point five. So he put up two point,

two two point. What's that? Three?

Nice.

So with that deal though, he owned and controlled the content. So, basically, every deal he's done, like, he's he's owning that IP.

So the Lionsgate CEO basically said, like, before it was released, like, if this makes twenty million dollars total, because, yeah, like, the budget was, like, five mil. He's, like, we'll be really stoked. And it did over twenty million in weekend one.

And since then, it's made over a hundred and fifty million dollars in licensing alone. That's crazy. So, like, first of all, like I I understand so he launched this stuff in in the the nineties or not in the plays in the nineties and two

thousands

And,

basically, like,

the black population is, I don't know, what, twelve percent of America. And so you think, like, So you're gonna do the thing dedicated to only twelve percent of one group. Like there's no way that can be big and he totally proved it correct because

I

it's kind of like, in in, is it ice? Where's B York from Iceland?

So

I think Iceland. And Iceland doesn't have a lot of people.

But Björk is incredibly famous, and I think the reason is is, like, Iceland had so much pride that a huge chunk of the Icelandic population was like, oh, we love York. Therefore, once they start seeing her succeed, they'd get behind her and they go, York is awesome and that's almost what happens here a little bit and that's kinda why sometimes it's cool to appeal

to a smaller but more passionate base. Than it is to appeal that, the larger percentage.

Yeah. And by the way, Iceland has a population of three hundred and sixty six thousand. People. So Is it that small? Very small. I remember I had a friend on exchange from Iceland, and she told me not jokingly

They have a dating app that makes sure that you are not related to someone that you are dating because it is such a small population.

And, hey, they made and B York sucks sorry if you're a B York fan, but, objectively, she she sucks. It is not good music. So, like, it was definitely, you know, they say is, like, it was the product out of the marketing good, the Icelandic Marketing,

the or whatever she's from, it was wonderful because they made her famous.

That's so funny.

Anyway, so that was his first foray into movies, but then he kept going. Okay. So he's done play, then he's done a movie. And now he wants to do TV. K. So he goes and, basically,

he goes and creates ten episodes first himself. Because again, he's like, I can do this. Like, I produced a play for ten years. I don't need, like, to hire a bunch of people. I can do this myself. So he creates ten episodes first. He sells it to one network called CW. And they air it. And the ratings are through the roof. People absolutely love it. And because of that, it caught the attention of another network, which basically was like, hey, can we steal this?

And they did. And they struck a deal for two hundred million dollars for him to leave this other network. And he would produce ninety more episodes. And again,

He owned the episodes, which is kinda crazy. He owned the IP of those episodes even after that two hundred million dollar deal. This deal alone is a expected to have made him a hundred and thirty eight million dollars. So

his show, his earnings.

Then,

you know, people still aren't really paying attention to Tyler for some reason, He continues to make, remember that Lions Gate deal, but he did. He continues to make movies with them. And over time, he makes an eleven film franchise

that's done over a billion in sales and netted him, specifically him individually

over two hundred ninety million dollars. Because, again, he always owned the copyright.

And then Tyler made one I mean, I'm sure he's made other bets, but one really big bet in twenty fifteen which, basically, this whole time, he's like an Atlanta native. Right? And he he kind of saw the potential for the city, And so we bought a plot of land worth thirty thousand sorry. Thirty million dollars at the times, three hundred and thirty acres and about double the size of a Warner Bros, Warner Brothers Lot. And he turned it into this, like, production

base where where different, like, media companies could go and film shows. So since then, I think, like, the Walking Dead has filmed their Black Panther.

And part of it is he actually, like, it wasn't just him betting on a city. He saw that in two thousand eight, Georgia

had changed the tax law. So there were certain incentives for production companies. So we saw

these incentives, and he said, you know what? I think people are different production companies. And I bet. Maybe they they they could have created those incentives just for him. Well, I mean, this happened the so the law happened in two thousand eight, he did this in two thousand fifteen. So we saw that this was changing. And, basically, in two thousand seven before that law, sixty seven million was spent in at or sorry, in Georgia.

And then in twenty eighteen, it was two point nine billion. Much thanks to

Tyler and his

investment there. But, basically, because of that, then he was also to he's since signed, like, a hundred and fifty million dollar deal deal with Viacom, CBS, to run another suites of episodes, and he's just, like, kept going. And in every juncture, he's made sure to own what he's producing. And so now he, like, has Listen to this. He's basically amassed twenty two films, dozens of plays, and twelve hundred TV episodes. That's what, like, his, like, life work So far, plus this, like, production base, and he owns much of his work. Even the, like, the latest hundred and fifty million dollar deal, I think he sold it for five years, but after those five years, the right returned to him. I love Tyler Perry. Is there a Tyler Perry biography out there? I would read that in a heartbeat. He I think there's a few. Go to Google Tyler Perry house He's got a this huge spread in outside of Atlanta with a private jet run run a runway. No one has that.

That is baller. So I was doing this podcast earlier today with Rob Walling and I was talking about how at hustle Con because I've met all these like successful people and these billionaires and stuff that that I, I'm, like, I was, like, often, I'll meet someone, like, for example,

like the founders of Casper or something like that. And I'll say to myself,

You know, you're like

maybe fi you're financially more successful than I am, maybe,

and

like your company is definitely bigger than my company,

but I don't think that you're necessarily, like, if I I don't think you're necessarily twenty times or fifty times more

smart or smarter than I am or however much bigger. I was like,

you know, like, we're in the same ballpark. You might be a little bit or maybe even I might be a little bit smarter or even hardworking or something like that. The difference is is that maybe you just kept at it or there's probably some luck involved or you, you kinda like landed on the right idea. Like, you're not, like, significantly better than me. And therefore, that's why I believe that most people can accomplish something interesting. Of course. Like, it definitely takes luck and, like, all this crazy other stuff to become a billionaire, but, like, we can all become, pretty successful if we just kinda stick with it because the intelligence isn't that big of a factor in order to achieve some success. However,

I see guys like Tyler Perry,

and I see the work that they, like, their output and they're genius and I think, well, we're just not the same. You're just better than me. Like, you are so good at what you do. Like, I went and just I I saw Hamilton the other day. And I was researching Lynn Manuel.

And I was like, oh, you're just a freak. Like, you, like, like, I was watching it. And I was, like, I don't even musicals, but the fact that someone was so brilliant that they came up with us and put this together that, like, I understand you should be a billionaire. Like, you should have it all. Should have or like when I read Harry Potter, I'm like, how on earth does one person invent this in their brain? You you're better than me. You and I, we are not the same. You are just a different human being and you're more of an alien than you are a a human being and that's how I feel about Tyler Perry. That's how I feel about like Lynn Manuel, or what is his name? Lynn Manuel. And that's how I feel about, like, a JK Rowling type. So kudos to Tyler Perry, he deserves it. Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. He's done, like, over twelve hundred TV episodes. Like, you have to be just, like, so good at what you do to be able to do that for, like, I think his first play came out in nineteen ninety two. So he's been creating for thirty years straight. And it's like, some people are one hit wonders. Like, this guy is not a one hit wonder. He, like, he knows what he's doing. He's, like, honed in his craft. And so, yeah, it's, like, super cool. Remember I got a lot of flack for this, but I, like, once tweeted something about, like, Jeff Bezos. I think he had, like, resigned. And I was, like, this guy's been working on this company.

For twenty seven years. Like, how rare is it that someone works on anything for even, like, five years straight? And these guys, like, Tyler Perry as well. Like, he's just, like, worked on

his craft for decades. Like, that's insane.

Yeah. It it's pretty cool. I think that, like, we were talking about on this podcast. I was like, you know, I think I could come a billionaire if I wanted to. I just you have to be willing to dedicate like thirty years to it. Like, I'm definitely smart enough and I and I work pretty hard. I just don't know if I'm like if I, like, wanna spend the time doing it. And

and and and I think a lot of people who achieve greatness, they're not much different, except are people. I was like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. I was like, they you just have more horsepower than I do. Like, you're just different. And I'm gonna put Tyler Perry in that category. You just you just we're just run we're not the same. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I know.

It's just like it's like a race car versus like, you know, not a race car. Like, there's just no amount of modifications. Can I make my car as fast as that? Yeah. You have to, like, have so much horsepower to wanna do this for so long, which is why you're you ask me all the time. You're like, you wanna be a billionaire? And, like, every time you ask me, I'm like,

less sure of

the fact that I wanna do it because I'm like, yeah, I everyone wants to be a billionaire. Everyone wants to, like, amass

maybe not everyone, but a lot of people are like, yeah, I'd love to live, like, a great life, but a lot of people don't wanna put in that effort. Now I'm questioning. Like, I think I'll actually be pretty happy with less than a billion. Yes. I think you'll be

I you do you definitely don't need that to be happy. That's for sure. About to see my first a million.

Got to safe in the spilling,

got to the bank. It's not big enough.