Not all that long ago everyone was blogging about rapper 50 Cent’s bankruptcy. We all used terms like “broke” and “bankrupt,” implying that he was dirt poor. But that’s fair, because you have to be completely out of money in order to file for bankruptcy, right?

Not always.

Bossip.com recently reported that 50 Cent is currently spending about $135,000 per month on bills.

But wait… didn’t he just file for bankruptcy? Where is this money coming from? After all, if he filed for bankruptcy, he must be flat broke.

The Rapper Chapter… 11

When we think of penniless people filing for bankruptcy, we are really thinking of chapter 7 bankruptcy. But 50 Cent filed for chapter 11. It’s the bankruptcy of business owners like Donald Trump. It doesn’t mean you are broke, it just means you can’t afford some of your expenses. And when you have the expenses of a 50 Cent, it’s easy to qualify for chapter 11.

Dollars and 50 Cents

It was reported that 50 Cent made $38,000 last month – a hefty sum indeed. Unfortunately for him it didn’t put a dent in his $135,000 worth of monthly bills. Let’s see how these break down.

Mortgage $35,000
Child Support $24,000 (his house is worth more than his kids)
Insurance $15,000 (you can’t ever be too safe)
Security $14,000 (ditto – he’s a rapper after all)
Lease Payments $11,400 (have no idea what he is leasing)
Cars $10,400 (got to look fly on the freeway)

This leaves him with $77,000 left over at the end of the month – in the negative of course. He made up the difference by drawing $20,700 from his Merrill Lynch account, and the rest came from the $7.4 million he has in his checking account.

You can have $7.4 million in your checking account and still file for bankruptcy?

Yep – you sure can… if you file for chapter 11.