In 2005, hip-hop star 50 Cent (née Curtis Jackson) appeared in a loosely autobiographical film, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Two years prior, the Eminem protégé had released his debut album of the same name. The album was a critical and commercial success; the same can't be said for the movie. Either way, while nine bullets legendarily attempted to fell Jackson in his youth, it's safe to say 50 has achieved his goal of impressive wealth. In September, "Fiddy" appeared second on Forbes list of "Hip-Hop Cash Kings," banking $32 million in 2006 alone.

In May 2007, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) purchased a little company called Glaceau, which makes Vitaminwater. The soft-drink giant's $4.2 billion cash and stock purchase translated into a payout of $400 million for 50 Cent, who held a sizable stake in the brand (his estimated profit after taxes was around $100 million). Other 50 Cent projects include the G-Unit record label, a clothing line, a sneaker line through the Reebok brand, ring tones, and video games -- to name only a few.

Continue reading Money Winners of 2007: 50 Cent parlays H2O into serious dough

Money Winners of 2007: 50 Cent parlays H2O into serious dough originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was part of the AOL Money & Finance Best & Worst of 2007 feature. The voting has now closed and readers have chosen Rosie O'Donnell's war of words with Donald Trump and others as the dumbest celebrity feud of the year. Be sure and let us know in the comments if you are pleased with this result.

Back in the day of the (fictional) Capulets and Montegues or the (real) Hatfields and McCoys, "feuds" were not something to be taken lightly. They separated men from boys and resulted in certain bloodshed. These days, tabloids will report on a new "celebrity feud" each week, as our nation's most rich and famous lash out at one another in the press or on live television.

Sometimes, there are justified reasons for unrest among pop culture's elite ... a cuckolding, perhaps, or a vicious custody battle (I blame Alec Baldwin's recent poor judgment on stress, but maybe he gets off lightly in my book because he's so brilliant on 30 Rock). At any rate, here's some of the most high-profile fights that took center stage in 2007.

The American public twice served as judge and jury for Rosie O'Donnell this year. Late last year, the comedienne found herself in a war of words with "The Donald" (Trump), after O'Donnell criticized the billionaire's handling of a scandal involving the Miss USA Pageant, of which Trump holds the rights. Name-calling and mudslinging ensued, and O'Donnell colleague Barbara Walters caught some shrapnel. Months later, on the May 23 episode of The View -- on which the liberally minded Rosie served as one of four co-hosts -- she got into a heated (split-screen!) debate with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the "conservative" member of the hosting panel. Tempers flared and Rosie ultimately walked out on her contract with the program, which was set to expire a few months later anyway. Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd have since picked up hosting duties.

Continue reading Best & Worst of 2007: Dumbest celebrity 'feuds'

Best & Worst of 2007: Dumbest celebrity 'feuds' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Hillary Clinton (9.1 million) defeats Barack Obama (2.62 million)
• Fred Thompson (10.6 million) defeats Rudy Giuliani (2.05 million) - to be fair, this may be pulling for more than one "Fred Thompson."
• Ben Bernanke (2.62 million) defeats Alan Greenspan (1.96 million)!
• Steve Jobs (88.5 million) defeats Bill Gates (44.6 million)
• Howard Stern (2.09 million) defeats Don Imus (1.98 million)
• 50 Cent (68 million) defeats Kanye West (6.72 million), despite what the numbers say
• O.J. Simpson (15 million) narrowly defeats "criminal justice system" (14.4 million)
• Mets (26 million) defeats Yankees (22.9 million)!
  

Googlefight.com: Stage your own celebrity death matches originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading In the rap battle for sales, Kanye trumps 50 Cent

In the rap battle for sales, Kanye trumps 50 Cent originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The richest ... rap mogul? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Coca Cola's (NYSE: KO) purchase of Glaceau, makers of Vitaminwater, earned hip hop star 50 Cent 800 million times as much money as his name suggests he is worth.

It has been reported that 50 Cent will star in a commercial for the drinks, which will feature him conducting a symphony orchestra in a rendition of his hit "In da club."

I can't find information on how much 50 paid for his stake in the company, but it's safe to assume that he a made a massive return on investment here. He's not the first celebrity to make a fortune as an early investor in a company. Adult contemporary star Kenny G was one the original ten Starbucks investors.

But frankly, it's much more heartwarming to see 50 Cent making money, mainly because he's less annoying than Kenny G, although that's not much of an accomplishment.

50 Cent banks $400 million on sale of Vitaminwater originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 May 2007 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.