How Master P Turned $10,000 Into A $350 Million Business Empire

Master P was raised in the Calliope housing projects, one of the most violent and drug infested areas of New Orleans. P planned to get his family out of the ghetto by playing in the NBA. After high school, he won a basketball scholarship to the University of Houston. Unfortunately P’s NBA dreams were dashed after he suffered a severe knee injury during the first few months of freshman year. After the injury, Master P left Houston and transferred to Merritt Junior College in Oakland to be closer to his family which had recently moved to the nearby city of Richmond. Determined to make something of himself and help his family live a better life, he soaked up as many business classes as he could at Merritt. In 1990, tragedy struck when P’s grandfather was killed in a work related accident. The one bright side of the accident was that it left Percy with a $10,000 malpractice insurance settlement check.

Armed with $10,000 and two years worth of junior college business classes, Master P decided to open a record store. He found a dilapidated building and struck a deal with the owner that gave him the first three months rent free in exchange for cleaning and renovating the storefront. The 21 year old future mogul soon launched “No Limit Records & Tapes” on San Pablo Avenue in Richmond, California. To reduce costs in those early days, Master P lived in a tiny storage room in the back of the shop with his wife Sonya and their one year old son, Percy Romeo Miller, Jr (AKA the future Lil Romeo). No Limit Records & Tapes mainly sold West Coast gangster rap albums with an emphasis on local East Bay artists like Tupac, Too Short, Rappin 4 Tay and E-40. Within a few months, the store was a hit in the community and in 1991 Master P began selling his own self produced album “Get Away Clean” through the newly launched “No Limit Records” label. To support the album, Master P set out on a West Coast tour as the opening act for Tupac and Too Short. Along the way, P connected with as many promoters and DJs that he could find. In 1992, after Master P’s second album “Mama’s Bad Boy” sold more than 150,000 album independently, he decided to move No Limit Records back to New Orleans in order to make a real run at the label business. By 1994, his third album “The Ghettos Tryin to Kill Me!” sold an unheard of 250,000 units independently and No Limit Records grossed more than $900,000!

Elvis Presley’s first original record of That’s All Right (Mama) estimated to fetch $91,000

The record after being released in the market, sold over 20,000 copies and the genre of ‘Rock n Roll’ was finally a reality, with Elvis Presley becoming the virtual godfather of that genre of music. Now, the promotion sticker attached to the record has Elvis’s surname spelt as Pressley along with this band members’ names, Scott and Bill on the Memphis Recording Service label. It is noted that the record was last traded at the 1998 Bonham’s auction event for $27,000, where the current owner bought it. Now it is stated to be back on the market for a price estimate of $91,000.

Drake Makes It Rain With $50K – And It’s A Tax Write Off!!!

What would you do on a Saturday night if you were 25 years old and sitting on $25 million? Would you hit up a movie? Maybe go mini-golfing? If you’re Canadian rapper/actor Drake, you withdraw $50,000 cash from your bank and make it rain at a Charlotte, North Carolina strip club! In case you were wondering, $50,000 is 0.2% of Drake’s net worth. That’s the equivalent of a person who is worth $100,000 throwing away $200. But here’s what the average person can’t do: When Drake throws away $50 grand at a club, not only does he get to look like a total badass, but as an entertainer he also gets to write the whole night off on his taxes! Next month, when Drake’s accountant files his 2012 tax return with the I.R.S., he has a justifiable argument for making every dollar he dumped on a stripper in 2012, a tax write off. He simply needs to classify these expenditures as an “Advertising or Publicity” expense. Basically the same as buying a radio commercial or a billboard advertisement, except a lot more fun because you’re surrounded by strippers. Technically speaking, if Drake wants to get the write off, he would need to provide a receipt and prove that the expense is directly related to his business… But I’m sure he has accountants who handle details like that.

Allen Iverson Broke – Squandered $160 Million Fortune

Recently, banks in Georgia and Colorado have foreclosed on homes belonging to former NBA great Allen Iverson. This comes just a few months after a judge in Georgia ordered Iverson to pay a local jeweler $860,000 as part of an outstanding bill. Unfortunately, the story how Iverson blew through a $160 million fortune is both shocking and sad. And $160 million doesn’t even ilude the $30 – $50 million he earned through endorsements. How did this happen?

Iverson’s fall from such incredible highs to financial destitution is shocking but becoming more and more common for professional athletes and other celebrities. Not that long ago, we learned that pop star Whitney Houston was flat broke at the time of her death and was living off hand outs as small as $500 just to get by, day to day. Whitney blew through a $150 million fortune on drugs, houses, entourages and more. A few months back we also discovered that former NFL star Terrell Owenshad no income and was bankrupt after earning $70 million during his career. Terrell blew through his money by having four ex girlfriends with children all living in mansions and demanding massive monthly financial support.

Allen Iverson’s financial woes follow a familiar pattern. He traveled with a massive entourage, sometimes numbering more than 50 people! He showered his friends and family with extravagant presents, jewelry, houses, cars, boats, vacations etc.. Allen also had a fondness for gambling. On several occasions he would drop over $1 million in a single evening of gambling in Atlantic City. Furthermore, Allen’s high school sweetheart, with whom he shared five children, filed for divorce and demanded hefty monthly support.