How to Get Rich Like 50 Cent

Rapper, producer and rising business mogul 50 Cent represents one of America's most incredible rags-to-riches stories. The Queens-born rapper went from the poorhouse to being one of the wealthiest people in show business by using his street smarts and making wise decisions when it came to money.

Instructions

1. Carve out a career for yourself wherever your talents lie, as 50 Cent did with rap and hip-hop. Get a leg up in your chosen field by finding a formerly well-known group to work with, as 50 Cent did when he chose to collaborate with the once-famous rap group Onyx to make his first official rap debut.

2. Dig in to your profession or career by working with well-known experts, as 50 Cent did with the hip-hop maestro, Jam Master Jay from Run DMC. Produce as much work as you can and be bold and controversial by releasing work as audacious as 50 Cent's title track "How to Rob."

3. Contact the top players in your field to show them your work by sending samples or proposals to as many of the best people as possible. In 50 Cent's case, top rapper Nas selected 50 Cent's demo after the emerging rapper sent out samples to a dozen of the industry's most important players, enabling him to jump a few levels on his rise to riches.

4. Find professional representation with connections to the elite of your industry so you can get connected to the stars. When the opportunity comes, as it did for 50 Cent when Eminem received the young rapper's CD, grab at it and make money out of it by putting your work in as many places as possible. In 50 Cent's case, it was a matter of releasing his CD and putting a track on the soundtrack to Eminem's movie, "8 Mile."

5. Capitalize on everything and market yourself as a personality by accepting any high-level gig that pays a lot of money. 50 Cent opened his own clothing line under his company G-Unit, and he did voice-over work for a video game that followed the production of his own film. Stay in the limelight in this way, but make sure the limelight pays if you want to get rich like 50 Cent.