Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry has made it on to Forbes coveted billionaires list for the first time.

He is among 493 first-time billionaires on the 2021 list that includes American rapper, record producer, fashion designer, and politician, Kanye West and his soon to be ex-wife, American media personality, socialite, model, businesswoman, producer and actress, Kim Kardashian.

Forbes this week released its annual list of billionaires, which includes 2,755 people. Perry enters the list at number 2,677 amassing US$1 billion from projects including the Madea franchise, the Haves and Have Nots, Tyler Perry’s Sistas, and Tyler Perry’s The Oval among other credits.

This news comes after it was revealed last year that the Madea maestro is now one of “Hollywood’s newest billionaire”. Perry has amassed his wealth through his library of movies, TV shows, plays, etc., as he owns 100 per cent of the content he has created, which is valued at US$320 million.

Tyler Perry’s other assets

He also has cash and investments worth US$300 million, the Tyler Perry Studios valued at US$280 million, his BET+ stake estimated at US$60 million as well as homes and toys amounting to US$40 million. In reference to Perry, Forbes stated: “He has honed a product that too many others viewed as destined for the discount bin. And he made sure to control it all. The 51-year-old entertainer owns the entirety of his creative output, including more than 1,200 episodes of television, 22 feature films and at least two dozen stage plays, as well as a 330-acre studio lot at the edge of Atlanta’s southern limits.”

Forbes made the point that Perry used that control to leverage a deal with ViacomCBS that pays him US$150 million a year for new content and gives him an equity stake in BET+, the streaming service it debuted last September. Forbes estimates Perry has earned more than US$1.4 billion in pretax income since 2005, which he used to buy homes in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as well as two planes.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West worth

In 2019 Kardashian launched her shapewear brand, Skims which has grown into a billion-dollar business. Forbes report that Skims is not the first billion-dollar business associated with the Kardashian empire.

Kardashian had sold a minority stake in her cosmetics line to the makeup giant Coty, valuing it at US$1 billion. Forbes has rated West as the second-highest paid celebrity last year and estimates his net worth at US$1.8 billion.

The biggest piece of West’s portfolio — about US$1.5 billion — is his shoe deal with adidas for the Yeezy brand, highly sought-after sneakers that can sell for thousands of dollars on secondary markets.

Jeff Bezos heads Forbes billionaires list

Forbes‘ billionaires list is headed by Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos who earns the top spot with a whopping US$177 billion. Elon Musk was second with US$151 billion, while music producer, Jay-Z is on the list at No. 2,141 with a net worth of US$1.4 billion.