Tyler Perry is officially a billionaire, according to Forbes estimates. Take a look at how the Hollywood mogul makes and spends his fortune.
ThelifeActor-filmmaker and author Tyler Perry poses for a portrait in New York.Associated Press
- Tyler Perry is officially worth $1 billion, per Forbes estimates.
- The newly minted billionaire has been a Hollywood heavy-hitter for years, thanks to his mega-successful Madea franchise and his 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Take a look inside how he makes and spends his money.
On September 1, Forbes added a new name to its list of Hollywood billionaires: Tyler Perry. With an estimated net worth of $1 billion, Perry joined the six-figure net worth ranks of Oprah Winfrey, George Lucas, John de Mol, and Steven Spielberg.
Writer-director-actor Tyler Perry attends the premiere of Tyler Perry's "A Fall from Grace," at Metrograph, Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Associated Press
Source: Forbes
Forbes broke down his empire into five key areas, among which are his cash and investments, his stake in the video-on-demand service BET+, and his sprawling Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty
Source: Forbes
Perry, 50, was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He shared a close relationship with his mother, who died in 2009. He is estranged from his father.
Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty
Source: Forbes, Seattle Times
Perry and his long-term partner, the model and activist Gelila Bekele, have one son, Aman. He is based in Atlanta.
Gary Gershoff/WireImage/Getty
Source: AJC
Perry had got his start in theater. His first play — I Know I've Been Changed — opened to a mostly empty theatre. Thirteen years and many other plays later, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, in 2005, jumpstarting his Madea franchise. The movie made $22.7 million in its opening weekend.
Tyler Perry, winner of Outstanding Theatrical Film for "Diary of a Mad Black Woman"
M. Caulfield/WireImage for BET Network
Source: Tyler Perry, Fox
One of Perry's best-known projects is the movie franchise Madea, in which Perry himself dresses as an elderly Black woman and plays the titular role. In an appearance on the Today show, Perry said that him playing the role happened by accident.
Tyler Perry as Madea during a 2017 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Source: Today
Perry made 11 Madea movies over the course of 15 years. The final installment — A Madea Family Funeral — made $27 million in its March 2019 opening weekend. Perry made the highest-grossing Madea movie, Madea Goes to Jail, exactly a decade prior to that. It brought in $90 million in total box office earnings in 2009.
Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
All of Perry's Madea movies were distributed by studio giant Lionsgate. The films collectively brought in over $1 billion in ticket sales while the production cost of each was approximately $20 million. It is unclear how much Perry has personally made from the franchise.
John Parra/Getty Images for Lionsgate
Source: Variety, New York Times
Perry and Lionsgate had a "first look" deal for eight years from 2008 to 2014. In a first-look deal, the creator owns the copyright to his material.
Tyler Perry is America's newest billionaire, according to Forbes.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Source: Variety, Kennington Groff
Since parting ways with Lionsgate, Perry has had a number of much-talked-about partnerships with Viacom, BET's parent company, and the Oprah Winfrey Network.
JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images
Source: THR
Forbes estimates that approximately $60 million of his billion-dollar net worth comes from his stake in BET+.
Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for BET
Source: Forbes
In 2017, Perry signed a contract with Viacom, BET's parent company, to produce exclusive original content for BET. The deal is slated to run through 2024 and didn't start until 2019, after Perry's contract with OWN ended.
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty
This multi-year partnership grew into a creating a video-on-demand subscription service in 2019 known as BET Plus, Variety reported. It will feature Perry's extensive library of work as well as BET programming.
BET
Source: Variety
In 2015, Perry forked out $30 million to buy over 300 acres of a former US Army base in Atlanta. Tyler Perry Studios sits on that plot. Forbes estimates the studio is worth $280 million.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Source: Curbed Atlanta, Forbes
IndieWire noted that the land used to be a base for the Confederate Army, a point Perry has acknowledged. In a 2019 BET awards speech, he said, "while you're fighting for a seat at the table, I'll be down in Atlanta building my own."
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Marvel megahit "Black Panther" was one of the first movies shot at the studio's new stages, AJC reported. Perry took Architectural Digest on a tour of the property in 2019, which gave viewers an inside look at the studio, which comes with neighborhoods, mansions, and even a replica of the White House.
Black Panther was directed by Ryan Coogler.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Source: AJC, Architectural Digest
Perry has built an impressive real estate portfolio over the years that consists of several multimillion-dollar properties in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Wyoming.
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Source: Forbes
Perry bought a 34,000-square-foot house in Atlanta in 2007 for $9 million. It has seven bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, a helipad, an infinity pool, and a tennis court.
Light traffic into downtown Atlanta during the coronavirus pandemic.
AP Photo/John Bazemore
Source: Architectural Digest
He sold the home to David Turner, an entrepreneur and evangelist, nine years later in 2016 for $17.5 million. Steve Harvey bought the house for $15 million in June 2020.
Byron Cohen/Getty Images
Source: Architectural Digest, Variety
Perry owns a mansion worth $18 million in the swanky Beverly Hills neighborhood. The eight-bedroom and 12-bathroom villa played host to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex earlier this year. It is unclear if they rented the property or stayed there as guests. The couple's representatives declined to comment to Insider at the time.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit Canada House
Reuters
Source: Business Insider, Insider, Daily Mail
Architectural Digest reported in November 2019 that Perry also owns a log cabin in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a "previously uninhabited island in the Bahamas" although it's unclear how much they are each worth. Perry told Ellen DeGeneres that he once saw a grizzly bear in the backyard of his Jackson Hole cabin.
WitGorski/Shutterstock.com
Source: Architectural Digest, The Ellen Show
Real estate isn't his only major investment. Perry owns a $150 million private jet that he used to fly water and other necessities to the Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.
FILE PHOTO: A man walks among the debris of his house after Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in Spring City
Reuters
Source: CNN
Perry is also known to be generous with his wealth. In July 2020, he gifted approximately $50,000 in grocery store gift cards to those to needed help. He's also run The Perry Foundation since 2006. The foundation works on helping those at an economic disadvantage and has a focus on areas like education, human rights, and health.
Healthcare workers dressed in full protective gear organize their documents of data they have collected during a house-to-house new coronavirus testing drive, ringed by a produce market in the Villa Dolores neighborhood of El Alto, Bolivia, Saturday, July 18, 2020.
Juan Karita/AP
Source: Today, The Perry Foundation
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