50 Cent has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as an individual, court papers uncovered by the Wall Street Journal indicate. Though the rapper is and has been engaged in a number of prominent business enterprises—he was said to have made at least $60 million off Coca-Cola’s 2007 purchase of Vitamin Water—a box is checked on the filing which attests that his debts are “consumer debts” that were “incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose.” The form says he has both assets and debts in the $10-$50 million range.
TMZ notes that on Friday 50 Cent—whose legal name is Curtis Jackson—lost a lawsuit filed by a woman named Lavonia Leviston, who alleged that he had leaked a sex tape in which she appeared in order to embarrass fellow rapper Rick Ross, who has a child with Leviston. The jury in that case ordered Jackson to pay Leviston $5 million in compensatory damages and may award her an even larger sum in punitive damages. Jackson also lost a $17 million lawsuit in December 2014 related to the design and marketing of headphones.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a debtor to submit a plan to reorganize his/her/its finances and repay creditors over time. It does not require total liquidation of assets.
