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From “Poor as Hell” to Billionaire: How Tyler Perry Changed Show Business Forever
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From “Poor as Hell” to Billionaire: How Tyler Perry Changed Show Business Forever

Shut out of entertainment’s mainstream, Hollywood’s newest billionaire wrote, produced and starred in his own American success story.

Madeline Berg
Forbes, 2020
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Concrete Examples
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Forbes writer Madeline Berg tracks Tyler Perry from “poor as hell” to billionaire, a rise against all odds. Hollywood repeatedly undervalued and dismissed Perry, a Black writer, actor, director and producer. He takes readers on a tour of his new financial and creative kingdom outside Atlanta, the Tyler Perry Studios. His mantra – “Ownership changes everything” – explains how and why he always maintains control over his products and his business. Now, Perry’s work and his studio are changing lives far beyond his own.

Take-Aways

  • Tyler Perry invented and polished a product everyone else deemed “low value,” and kept total control over it. 
  • From an early age, Perry was an entertainer.
  • Black community theaters embraced Perry’s play I Know I’ve Been Changed.

About the Author

Forbes reporter Madeline Berg specializes in the “intersection of Hollywood and money,” from media moguls to YouTube stars. Prior to Forbes, she covered media, food and education for the New York Observer. 

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