Who was Tupac (2Pac):
Tupac Shakur was a rapper and actor from America. Shakur was a very influential rap artist and performer known for his highly political and socially conscious songs. Tupac has sold over 75 million albums worldwide to date. Tragically, at the age of 25, he was killed in Las Vegas in 1996 in a murder that is still not solved today.
Tupac’s Career and Early Life
Tupac was born in New York City on June 16, 1971, as Tupac Amaru Shakur. As a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the ‘Digital Underground’ alternative hip hop party, Tupac began his music career. Since starting a solo career, he became an international music phenomenon.
During the latter part of his career, Tupac was linked to the so-called East Coast/West Coast hip hop rivalry. He was also associated with other rappers, producers, and record label employees in disputes, most notably with Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and their label Bad Boy Records. Many people claim that this rivalry with B.I.G. and Daddy finally resulted in Tupac being shot numerous times in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Six days later, he passed away.
Tupac’s mother was a Black Panther Party member. Tupac also appeared in various films, including Juice in 1992 and Poetic Justice in 1993.
Net Worth and Financial crisis at death
At the time of his death in 1996, Tupac Shakur had a net worth of $200 thousand. Despite having sold $60 million prices of albums in 1996 alone, Tupac’s finances were a mess at his death. A forensic prosecutor would later learn that Tupac had very little to show for his immense success within weeks of his death. He didn’t own any real estate, had no pension plans, no stocks.
He did not own the Woodland Hills mansion he lived in at the end of his life. His critical assets were a five-figure life insurance policy that went to his half-sister, two vehicles, and $105,000 in a single checking account. All of those funds were consumed in short order by court costs and taxes. A Mercedes Benz SL 500 was the only valuable asset that Afeni Shakur got from her son’s estate shortly after his death.
When he died, Tupac was $4.9 million in debt to his Death Row record label. Afeni took possession of the estate because he died without a will. Eventually, she sued Death Row for denying royalties and failing to make planned advancements under his contract. Death Row refuted the allegations, saying that his extravagant spending habits were the product of Tupac’s financial problems.
The firm created documents showing that Death Row loaned Tupac millions of dollars to fund his lifestyle in the year preceding his death. The corporation lent him several hundred thousand dollars to buy cars for himself and rent several homes for himself and his family. A $300,000 tab that Tupac had wracked up at a single Los Angeles hotel was also compensated by Death Row. The label also faced a monthly payment of $16,000, which Tupac arranged to support his mother. Finally, $2 million was given by the brand to cover Tupac’s album and video expenses.
As Tupac’s mother threatened to ban the album release before the financial questions were resolved, Interscope Records, the distributor of Death Row, paid his estate $3 million immediately. Interscope also agreed to pay $2 million in one year to his estate and increase his royalty rate from 12% to 18%. Besides, half of the $4.9 million debt that Death Row believed it owed was forgiven by Interscope. At a very stressful moment, Jimmy Iovine was instrumental in ironing out an amicable resolution.
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Tupac’s estate will gain tens of millions for the posthumous release of Tupac records, merchandise sales, and numerous other forms of image licensing over the next few decades.
