A Billionaire on His Own Terms
According to Forbes, actor, writer, producer, and studio executive, Tyler Perry is a billionaire. If there's anyone who epitomises a rags-to-riches story, Perry is it. His story is fascinating — from sleeping in his car to building an entertainment empire — because of how unconventional it has been. He was never a multi-platinum rapper like Jay-Z or Diddy, who parlayed pop culture acclaim into fashion and branding. Instead, Perry built his fortune on penning and starring in comedic gospel plays featuring himself, cross-dressing as the outlandish God-fearing, gun-toting Madea. It captured the hearts of an often overlooked entertainment industry segment, the Black church, specifically middle-aged Black women. If Perry had billionaire status in his sights from day one, there were certainly easier ways to achieve it.
Born in New Orleans in 1969, Perry's childhood was marked by poverty in a household scarred by abuse. A high school dropout who later earned his GED, he escaped through writing, penning his first play, I Know I've Been Changed, in 1992. Though the play ultimately flopped, forcing Perry to live in his car for three months, he went on to write thirteen plays over the next thirteen years, including Woman Thou Art Loosed! and I Can Do Bad All By Myself, the first appearance of the renowned Madea. The touring plays were a phenomenon, earning Perry a reported $100 million from theatre ticket sales. He earned $30 million from the videotaped performances and $20 million from merchandising.
Despite his success, major networks refused to bite and offer Perry a TV series based on his successful stage plays. Undaunted, Perry took his characters to the big screen with 2005's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which debuted at number one in the United States, followed by a series of inspirational/morality-themed films: Madea's Family Reunion, Daddy's Little Girls, Why Did I Get Married?, Meet the Browns, The Family That Preys and many more. Perry had firmly established himself with his core audience — America's Black church-going masses. A book, Don't Make A Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries On Life And Love, spent eight weeks as a New York Times Bestseller.
Perry expanded his brand to TV with the TBS series House of Payne, the highest-rated first-run syndicated cable show of all time, which went into syndication after only a year. TBS paid a mighty $200 million, $138 million of which went to Perry himself as a writer/director and producer. His follow-up effort, Meet the Browns, was the second-highest debut ever on cable – after House of Payne. There have been other multiple TV shows as Perry joined forces with fellow media mogul Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network. In between, Perry has made multiple big screen appearances as an actor while opening his own 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, which employs 400 people. According to Forbes, "He paid $30 million for the property in 2015 and has since spent $250 million building a studio operation that's now more than twice the size of the storied Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California—all of it paid for with the cash he's brought in churning out movies and television programming for the past 15 years."
Explaining why owning his own studio is essential to increasing his profits, he told Forbes, "I own the lights. I own the sets. So that's where the difference is. Because I own everything, my returns are higher."
Part of Perry's net worth is down to his philosophy of self-investment for a greater share of the profits instead of seeking outside funding. Here are a few examples:
Madea
Diary of Mad Black Woman: The 2005 film was made for $5.5 million. Perry funded 50% of the project in an agreement to collect 50% of the film's profits and later gain ownership rights. The studio, Lionsgate, deducted marketing costs and 12.5% in distribution from Perry's percentage. The studio had hoped the movie would profit $20 million at the box office. The film grossed $21 million in its first weekend, racking up a total of $51 million plus another $150 million in video sales, streaming, TV licensing and on-demand services.
A further 10 Madea starring films grossed over $670 million at the box office, earning Perry $290 million, thanks to shrewd budgeting, self-investment and ownership. This approach has allowed Perry to eschew the standard non-compete clauses mandated by studios and take his characters where he wants. The most recent Madea movie, A Madea Homecoming debuted on Netflix on February 25th, 2022, the first Madea movie to debut exclusively on a streaming network.
TV
Perry has produced over a dozen TV shows and counting, nearly all of which are filmed in and around Georgia, thus profiting from the state's favorable tax credits for the movie industry. He used his own studio for much of the filming and has, so far, had deals with TBS, OWN and ViacomCBS (the latter pays him $150 million a year for new content and gives him a 25% equity stake in BET+). His most recent production, A Jazzman's Blues, was also released on Netflix.
Real Estate Holdings
Tyler Perry owns a string of lavish homes around the US and the Caribbean. His current holdings include:
A 22-acre property in the high-end Beverly Ridge area, made famous as the temporary home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before they moved to their own home. The custom-built 24,000-square-foot mansion has eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a library, a fountain and a pool.
In 2016 Perry sold his Atlanta mansion for $15 million, making it one of the most expensive homes to sell in the city. Two years ago it was reported that Perry had started construction on a new estate in the Atlanta suburbs that will feature a runway for the mogul's two private jets.
He also owns a home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Conclusion
Despite his success, Tyler Perry is still known to much of the world because he gave Prince Harry and Megan Markle the use of his home when they left the UK. It's not something he'll lose any sleep over. It's a testament to his sense of self that he became a billionaire without compromising what he believed in and wanted to say. He found his audience and expanded upon it, forcing the industry to come to him, rather than go at it with a begging bowl. He found success on his own terms which is a nigh-on impossible feat in the entertainment industry.
"I came from a place where Black people had already embraced me and loved me. I was completely happy there, and still am," Perry told Forbes of his take on Hollywood. "As I entered into Hollywood, it was always about finding a way," he expounded to Variety: I've never had an open door, or an invitation or opportunity, while I watched my white brothers and sisters get opportunity after opportunity, no matter if their shows or movies fail or not. I understand that this is the hand that I was dealt. This Black skin that encompasses me is beautiful. I'm not going to apologize for it. I'm not going to be ashamed of it. But I'm going to make it work for me and for us."
A commendable sentiment. An amazing career.