WEBVTT - 9 Surprising Ways Celebrities Made Money

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<v Speaker 1>I guess what, Well, what's that? So? I was reading

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<v Speaker 1>up on facts about instruments and music this week and

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<v Speaker 1>I stumbled into this old fact I had totally forgotten.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you realize that Lyndon Johnson used to own a

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<v Speaker 1>music franchise? Actually I do vaguely remember that, but I

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<v Speaker 1>don't remember the full story. So what was it? So

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<v Speaker 1>this is the part I didn't remember. Apparently, when Eisenhower

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<v Speaker 1>was president, Johnson sold a contract for music to be

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<v Speaker 1>played into the White House. How weird is that? So

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<v Speaker 1>there used to actually be like elevator music just pumping

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<v Speaker 1>through the White House walls. And weirdly that wasn't the

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<v Speaker 1>only incidents of music and politics. Yeah, when Nixon was

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<v Speaker 1>sworn in as president, and this is according to the

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<v Speaker 1>American Conservative magazine, music was blared across the Washington Mall.

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<v Speaker 1>And to me, it is literally the weirdest thing that

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<v Speaker 1>the one thing that both sides of the political aisle

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<v Speaker 1>can agree on is music. But back to LBJ. He

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<v Speaker 1>loved music so much that he hung speakers from his

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<v Speaker 1>trees outside of his ranch just so he could listen

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<v Speaker 1>while he worked. And he actually made some good money

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<v Speaker 1>off the ventuare of course, when he actually became president,

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<v Speaker 1>he sold a franchise so that he didn't have any

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<v Speaker 1>entanglements while in office. But hearing about lbj's love of

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<v Speaker 1>music made us wonder, what are some other ways that

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<v Speaker 1>famous people have made money? And that's what we're covering

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<v Speaker 1>in today's Nine Things. Let's dig in h a their podcast. Listeners,

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as

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<v Speaker 1>always I'm joined by my good friend man Guesh Ticketer

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<v Speaker 1>and sitting behind the soundproof glass looking up pyramids schemes.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's the weird thing, my go we weren't talking

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<v Speaker 1>about like Ponzi schemes. Tristan is actually looking up ways

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<v Speaker 1>he can put money into actual pyramids. He wants to

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<v Speaker 1>bring them back into vogue. Is like I guess townhouses

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<v Speaker 1>and strip mall restaurants. Anyway, that's our friend than producer

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<v Speaker 1>Tristan McNeil, and he has such a shrewd business mind,

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<v Speaker 1>he really does. I didn't realize that until more recently.

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<v Speaker 1>So we kick this off with the story about l VJ,

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<v Speaker 1>because it's stunning to me that you could be a

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<v Speaker 1>politician and super active like LVJ had this reputation for

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<v Speaker 1>being this operator this line of the Senate, but to

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<v Speaker 1>also have time to play with the business on the

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<v Speaker 1>side and help it thrive is just so baffling to me.

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<v Speaker 1>But one of the things I was thinking about, and

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<v Speaker 1>this is such a weird story, but it's that time

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<v Speaker 1>we met Victoria Jackson from SNL. Everything about that story

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<v Speaker 1>was weird, but this was almost two decades ago. But

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<v Speaker 1>she was telling us that her dad had told her

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<v Speaker 1>she needed a backup job because her dad didn't think

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<v Speaker 1>she could make it as a comedian, so she decided

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<v Speaker 1>that to pay the bills, she'd become a poet as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Just makes the world. I mean, it's funny, but it

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<v Speaker 1>is also interesting to see when actors have backup plans

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<v Speaker 1>like that. You know. I always think about Nick Offerman

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<v Speaker 1>from Parks and rec He's a carpenter, as many people know,

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<v Speaker 1>and has this shop on the side and actually takes

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<v Speaker 1>missions for things like canoes and mustache combes and other

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<v Speaker 1>stuff like that. But I was listening to this interview

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<v Speaker 1>with him on Fresh Air. Did you happen to hear

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<v Speaker 1>this interview? But he was talking about what a relief

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<v Speaker 1>it was like, not just financially but also spiritually. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd go to this audition for a pilot or something

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<v Speaker 1>like that, and you have all this nervous energy after

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<v Speaker 1>the opera, But instead of drinking, he could actually go

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<v Speaker 1>and make something and channel that energy into sanding or

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<v Speaker 1>planing wood. And there's just something wonderful about all Right, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you kick this off with a story about lb J.

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<v Speaker 1>But how about we talk a little bit about a

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<v Speaker 1>president who lost all his money and then needed to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how to make it back. So I'm curious

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<v Speaker 1>which president this is, because I know there are a

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<v Speaker 1>few that have gone to this, like, are you talking

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<v Speaker 1>about Truman? No, I'm talking about Ulysses S. Grant in

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<v Speaker 1>this case. So you know, it wasn't like Grant was

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<v Speaker 1>broke actually, but he left office. He settled down in

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<v Speaker 1>New York and he put a bunch of his cash

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<v Speaker 1>into Wall Street. Now specifically, he'd put money into a

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<v Speaker 1>firm where his on Buck was one of the grant

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<v Speaker 1>Buck Grant and but Grant was not somebody that should

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<v Speaker 1>have been trusted because, as it turns out, it was

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<v Speaker 1>just a Ponzi scheme. This was something I looked up

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<v Speaker 1>and found in Smithsonian. But they solicited investments from Grant's

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<v Speaker 1>wealthy friends. Then they speculated with funds, cooked the books

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<v Speaker 1>to cover the losses, and like so many of these cases,

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<v Speaker 1>before long they went bussed with Grant's money. So what

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<v Speaker 1>did Grant do after this? He wrote a book, which

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<v Speaker 1>is something that you expect every former president to do now,

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<v Speaker 1>but didn't exactly expect that then. But this was with

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<v Speaker 1>the help of another author, and his name was Mark Twain.

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<v Speaker 1>That idea, yeah, And so the dying Grant actually wrote

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<v Speaker 1>a super readable memoir and his wife actually earned over

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<v Speaker 1>half a million dollars in royalties after he passed away.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's amazing. I mean, I I guess the lesson

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<v Speaker 1>there is that if you're going broke, just get your

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<v Speaker 1>friend Mark Twain. Help me out. Mark. So I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>take it from here. I have an idea that should

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<v Speaker 1>have made a celebrity a ton of money but hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>because she refused a license for patent. And that's Jamie

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<v Speaker 1>Lee Curtis. Is an amazing story. Apparently, in seven, Jamie

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<v Speaker 1>Lee Curtis designed a diaper with a moisture proof pocket

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<v Speaker 1>that would hold baby wipes in it. And the idea

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<v Speaker 1>was that when you're on the go, you could just

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<v Speaker 1>pull a wipe from the diaper with one hand as

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<v Speaker 1>you're changing your baby. Like that, your baby becomes like

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<v Speaker 1>a white dispenser as well. It's a great idea, made

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<v Speaker 1>a killing on it. The patent was US zero seven

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<v Speaker 1>zero one six eight three too, in case you want

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<v Speaker 1>to look at always preferred, But she refused the license

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<v Speaker 1>her idea unless a diaper company made this biodegradable version.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, now the idea is in the public domain,

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<v Speaker 1>which is kind of amazing, so anyone can use it.

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<v Speaker 1>But I love that she both had and protected this

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<v Speaker 1>incredible idea, and also that she turned away money to

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<v Speaker 1>maintain her ideals. It really is remarkably Also, this is aside,

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<v Speaker 1>But as I was looking up Jamie Lee, I I

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<v Speaker 1>learned that he's also a massive, massive World of Warcraft fan,

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<v Speaker 1>Jamie Lee Curtill, and she'll often wear these elaborate disguises

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<v Speaker 1>just so she can attend things like comic con or

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<v Speaker 1>gaming conventions and go incognita. Oh that's pretty cool. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>here's somebody who's made money in a more approachable way,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's Jeremy Renner. Jeremy loves to flip houses. And

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure if this was inspired by Trading Spaces

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<v Speaker 1>or any of those home improvement shows, But back in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and two, he was just a struggling actor

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<v Speaker 1>in Hollywood and he was getting a few guest spots

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<v Speaker 1>on TV shows, landed in a few indie films, but

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<v Speaker 1>actually was just scraping by. So he and his friend

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<v Speaker 1>bought this tiny fixer upper, and the whole idea was

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<v Speaker 1>really just to have a place to live, and they

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<v Speaker 1>realized that to make it livable and not to be

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<v Speaker 1>fighting all the time, they really needed to do a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of work to the house, so they would do

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<v Speaker 1>things like at another bathroom. But you know, as they

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<v Speaker 1>fixed it up, somebody actually came along and offered them

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<v Speaker 1>way more money than they had put into it, and

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<v Speaker 1>they decided to go for it. But they actually enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>the process so much and putting the work in that

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<v Speaker 1>they did it again and again, and since then they've

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<v Speaker 1>actually made millions of dollars on flipping houses, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>pretty incredible. I do feel like I keep hearing people

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<v Speaker 1>talk about flipping houses, and it's been going on since

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<v Speaker 1>the two thousands. We should probably get into it. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that's the thing, is right, Like everyone does

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<v Speaker 1>this and tends to lose money, but I like he

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<v Speaker 1>gets so much joy out of working on the houses.

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<v Speaker 1>It also, to me, it just sounds like such a

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<v Speaker 1>romantic idea, like farming or something. It's this idea like

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<v Speaker 1>that you can work with your hands, you get to

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<v Speaker 1>make all these repairs and like see the fruits of

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<v Speaker 1>your labor. But I remember when one of our friends,

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<v Speaker 1>who was an architect, decided to try to flip a

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<v Speaker 1>house with his wife, and she was saying how awful

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<v Speaker 1>it was that like every day after work that she'd

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<v Speaker 1>go home and instead of being able to relax and

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<v Speaker 1>watch TV, they always have like a big counter in

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<v Speaker 1>their living room where they'd have to work on something.

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<v Speaker 1>And just how draining that could be. I can imagine.

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<v Speaker 1>It just sounds awful. But you know, speaking of hard workers,

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<v Speaker 1>one celebrity who was a millionaire before he was a

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<v Speaker 1>famous actor was Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this is when he

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<v Speaker 1>was in his early twenties. He moved to the US

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<v Speaker 1>to get deeper into bodybuilding, and he really didn't have

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<v Speaker 1>much money at the time, but he and his friend

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<v Speaker 1>decided to go into business as bricklayers, and basically they

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<v Speaker 1>figured that in between their gym sessions, which were basically

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<v Speaker 1>all day, they could do this active labor and keep

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<v Speaker 1>working on their bodies. And initially they thought they'd win

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<v Speaker 1>people over by undercutting the competition with these super cheap prices,

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<v Speaker 1>but the business did not take off. So then they

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<v Speaker 1>decided to go the opposite way, and Arnold had this

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<v Speaker 1>brilliant idea to rebrand themselves as as European bricklayers and

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<v Speaker 1>Mason re experts European. Yeah, it's bricklaying with an accent,

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<v Speaker 1>and the whole idea was that you pay more for

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<v Speaker 1>the European expertise. Anyway, they put this at in the

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<v Speaker 1>l A Times, and between their own salesmanship and this

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<v Speaker 1>devastation that happened around the same time from an earthquake,

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<v Speaker 1>their business quickly quickly took off. And from there, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess Schwarzenerger just diversified it into real estate and other ventures,

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<v Speaker 1>and so he was like actually a millionaire before he

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<v Speaker 1>was on the silver screen. I had never heard that story.

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<v Speaker 1>That's pretty cool, all right, Well, I think we've all

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<v Speaker 1>heard about fifty cent and his fortune that he made

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<v Speaker 1>from being an early investor in vitamin water. But he's

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<v Speaker 1>actually also made some money in surprising ways on the

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<v Speaker 1>side by taking a chance on a new currency. And

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<v Speaker 1>of course i'm talking about bitcoin. We're going back to

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand fourteen. Fifty was one of the first artists

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<v Speaker 1>to allow people to pay for his album in bitcoin.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, if you're fifty cent and you're trying to

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<v Speaker 1>sell an album in two thousand fourteen, I'm guessing you'll

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<v Speaker 1>take any sort of money for that record you can get, right, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>what was the album even called Hey Mago You don't

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<v Speaker 1>remember two thousand and fourteen's Animal Ambition. Shame well, he

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<v Speaker 1>raked in about seven hundred bitcoin and sales in addition

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<v Speaker 1>to the traditional sales, which really wasn't bad. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was something like four fifty thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 1>at the time. But then he just left the money

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<v Speaker 1>there and accidentally let it grow, and that same amount

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<v Speaker 1>of money is currently worth over eight million dollars. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I love how for someone like eight million dollars probably

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<v Speaker 1>isn't that much, but how that would obviously be life

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<v Speaker 1>changing for any of so many pyramids. So, speaking of

0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.880
<v Speaker 1>cryptocurrencies and hip hop artists that I don't think much

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<v Speaker 1>about today. Quite quite the transition. I'm curious where this

0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.840
<v Speaker 1>sentence goes. It ends with a con. I mean, have

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<v Speaker 1>you thought about a con because I don't think about him.

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<v Speaker 1>But The Independent had this article on him, and our

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<v Speaker 1>researcher Eves found it for me. Um. But apparently he

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<v Speaker 1>used to be a part owner in a diamond mind

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<v Speaker 1>and according to the article, he said, when I went

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<v Speaker 1>to South Africa, I ran to some guys who owned

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<v Speaker 1>minds and they were like, Yo, we need a face,

0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.360
<v Speaker 1>we need someone that we can partner with. I became

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<v Speaker 1>an equal partner and so I guess he's been wholesaling

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<v Speaker 1>diamonds to the US ever since. But it's crazy to

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<v Speaker 1>me because obviously there are all sorts of labor complications

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<v Speaker 1>with diamonds. But I do believe he's trying to figure

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<v Speaker 1>out how to make the practice better. And apparently this

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<v Speaker 1>isn't just like a fad firm. He's always looking at

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<v Speaker 1>ways to give back to Africa while also make money.

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<v Speaker 1>So he's of Senegalese descent and he was surprised that

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<v Speaker 1>he couldn't tour parts of the country because of electricity issues.

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<v Speaker 1>So he invested in this company that installs solar street

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<v Speaker 1>lamps and also creates these solar micro grids. It's called

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<v Speaker 1>Acon Lighting Africa, and it's been so successful and created

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<v Speaker 1>so many new jobs that they've actually moved from Senegal

0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.559
<v Speaker 1>into all these other nations. That's super interesting. But you

0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:30.760
<v Speaker 1>said something about cryptocurrency, right, Yeah, so that's another one

0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:33.319
<v Speaker 1>of his initiatives. He's launching his own crypto in Africa

0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.400
<v Speaker 1>and working with the Senegalese government to create a coin.

0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.280
<v Speaker 1>And as you put it, quote, I think that blockchain

0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.120
<v Speaker 1>and crypto could be the savior for Africa in many

0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.600
<v Speaker 1>ways because it brings the power back to the people

0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:47.640
<v Speaker 1>and does not allow government to do those things that

0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.520
<v Speaker 1>are keeping them down. So he's obviously got a lot

0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:52.160
<v Speaker 1>of faith in this. He's also working with the President

0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.880
<v Speaker 1>of Senegal to develop two thousand acres of land. It's

0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.360
<v Speaker 1>supposed to be the first crypto based city with a

0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.640
<v Speaker 1>coins being used as the transactional currency. So it's really

0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:03.400
<v Speaker 1>interesting experiment and it'll be interesting to see how it

0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.160
<v Speaker 1>develops as well. Definitely. All right, Well, now we've got

0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:08.080
<v Speaker 1>two facts to go, but before we get to those,

0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:24.040
<v Speaker 1>let's take a quick break, So we're talking about the

0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.920
<v Speaker 1>unusual ways some famous people made their money. We got

0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:30.120
<v Speaker 1>one fact left each, So what's your last fact of

0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.960
<v Speaker 1>the day. So one thing I think is really fun

0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.840
<v Speaker 1>to look at is how entrepreneurs are in their youth

0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:38.520
<v Speaker 1>because they always seem to be entrepreneurs right, Like, they're

0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:43.000
<v Speaker 1>always looking for opportunities, they're always just starting different things.

0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:44.920
<v Speaker 1>And as I was looking for stories, I found this

0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:48.080
<v Speaker 1>one in Fortune about Mark Cuban. I guess you know,

0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.640
<v Speaker 1>he was absolutely the same as a kid, he wanted

0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.520
<v Speaker 1>a new pair of sneakers, so to make money for that, he, uh,

0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.160
<v Speaker 1>he started selling garbage bags door to door and he

0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:58.200
<v Speaker 1>made the money for it. You know, he always had

0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:01.079
<v Speaker 1>these side businesses. But my favorite one that I read

0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:04.600
<v Speaker 1>about was that in college used to teach disco dancing

0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.600
<v Speaker 1>in home to people. Like he'd go to people's homes

0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:13.079
<v Speaker 1>just to teach them. So stiff, but apparently he's very

0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.959
<v Speaker 1>loose on the dance floor. And here's his quote from

0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:18.080
<v Speaker 1>the story. If you get asked by a bunch of

0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.360
<v Speaker 1>stority girls to come to a sorority house to teach

0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.360
<v Speaker 1>girls how to dance for twenty an hour, you do it.

0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.400
<v Speaker 1>That is such a Mark Cuban quote if I've ever

0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:27.920
<v Speaker 1>heard one, and I'm not sure how lucrative it really

0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:29.760
<v Speaker 1>was for him, but I do like that he was

0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:33.520
<v Speaker 1>in demand for his disco skills. All right, Well, my

0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:35.560
<v Speaker 1>last fact of the day is going to be about

0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.440
<v Speaker 1>Venus Williams, and you know, one of the many things

0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.400
<v Speaker 1>I like about her now and obviously she's made a

0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.240
<v Speaker 1>ton of money playing tennis, but actually if you read

0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:45.640
<v Speaker 1>about her and Serena growing up on the courts and

0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:49.200
<v Speaker 1>playing in Compton, it's pretty remarkable, like they used to

0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.800
<v Speaker 1>have to dive on the pavement as drive byes happened.

0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:54.520
<v Speaker 1>In fact, the courts had been paid for by Freeway.

0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:57.960
<v Speaker 1>Rick Ross, you know, the cocaine kingpin, who also happened

0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:01.320
<v Speaker 1>to be a tennis enthusiast. Was not the traditional country

0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:04.320
<v Speaker 1>club way to grow up, of course, but Venis obviously

0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.240
<v Speaker 1>grew up to be this insanely successful tennis star. And

0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:09.160
<v Speaker 1>one of the things she's done with that is to

0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:13.120
<v Speaker 1>launch an interior design company. It's called v Star. Now,

0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.800
<v Speaker 1>the firm has this insane client list. They do everything

0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:20.720
<v Speaker 1>from NFL and NBA players, homes, the tennis clubs, residential properties,

0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.000
<v Speaker 1>but Williams comes by it all honestly. In fact, she

0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.520
<v Speaker 1>has a degree and fashion design from the Art Institute

0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.080
<v Speaker 1>of Fort Lauderdale, so it isn't just a place to

0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.800
<v Speaker 1>park our money, but something she actually has this very

0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:35.000
<v Speaker 1>real interest in. Oh, I really love that, and I

0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:37.520
<v Speaker 1>you know, when you go for Venus Williams Sacks, you

0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.200
<v Speaker 1>know you're going for my heart. I also love that

0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.760
<v Speaker 1>you brought that Freeway Rick Ross story in because that's

0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:44.080
<v Speaker 1>the story I really want to tell on the show,

0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.400
<v Speaker 1>because it's so great. Is I do think I'm gonna

0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.160
<v Speaker 1>have to give you the trophy this week? All right, Well,

0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.520
<v Speaker 1>thank you and thank you guys for listening. Also thanks

0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.440
<v Speaker 1>to Eve Jeff Code for coming up with so much

0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:54.760
<v Speaker 1>of today's research. We'll be back with a full length

0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:55.600
<v Speaker 1>episode tomorrow