Forbes Names Tyler Perry A Billionaire

Say hello to Hollywood’s brand new billionaire Tyler Perry.

Forbes magazine known for keeping track of celebrities’ net worth announced on Tuesday that the 50-year-old filmmaker is now a billionaire.

Perry is estimated to have a net worth of $1 billion after earning more than $1.4 billion in pretax income since 2005.

According to forbes, Perry’s films alone have grossed nearly $1 billion to date, and he owns the rights to all of them. Forbes reports that Perry owns the entirety of his creative output, which includes more than 1,200 television episodes, 22 films, at least two dozen plays and a 330-acre studio lot in Atlanta.

Perry who came from a poor background revealed that he has made it a point in his career to own everything he makes.

“Ownership for me was easy because I was underestimated,” Perry said. “They said, ‘Sure, you can own it.’ They didn’t think it’d be worth anything.”

Not only that, he also disclosed that he learned the value of ownership at a young age.

“My father was a subcontractor, and he would get paid on Fridays and be so happy that he had made $800,” he recalled to Forbes. “But I would watch the man that owned the house sell it and make $80,000. So I always knew that there was more power in the man that owned the house rather than the man that actually was working on it and building it. So I always wanted to be the guy that owned the house.”

Perry also opened up about the lack of diversity he’s seen on film sets throughout his career and how he wants to be a force to change that.

“I wanted to foster an environment where minorities and women and LGBTQ, anybody who wanted to come and work and do a great job was welcome,” he said. “What I found is, if you invest in the underdog, if you invest in the people who haven’t had the opportunity, the level of gratitude and understanding for what is happening for them is so powerful. It’s just wonderful.”

With his new billionaire status, the “Madea” star joins the ranks of Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.