50 Cent files for bankruptcy

TORONTO — 50 Cent, once ranked one of the world’s richest rappers, filed for bankruptcy on Monday.

The 40-year-old, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III, filed a voluntary petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Connecticut.

According to the court filing, 50 Cent has between $10 million and $40 million in both liabilities and assets.

In May, Forbes estimated 50 Cent to be worth $155 million.

His business and investment portfolio includes mining, boxing promotion, vodka, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion.

He earned millions from his minority stake in Vitamin Water when the company was acquired by Coca-Cola for a reported $4.1 billion.

Monday’s bankruptcy petition indicates Jackson’s debt is primarily consumer, not corporate.

“Hey, if you don’t lose some money in this recession it means you didn’t have enough to start off with,” he told Daily Mail in 2009. “Sure I lost a few (million) but that’s just because I have so much.”

50 Cent has sold more than 22 million albums has collected more than two dozen music industry awards. He made his acting debut in 2005’s made-in-Toronto biopic Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and currently stars opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw.

On Friday, Jackson was ordered by a judge to pay a woman $5 million for posting a sex tape online.

A July 8 article in The New York Times praised 50 Cent for having “exceptional business instincts.”