For lease: Farmington, Connecticut, mansion. Includes 21 bedrooms, 37 bathrooms and a dancing room complete with stripper poles.
Rapper 50 Cent, who filed for personal bankruptcy last month, is attempting to lease his mega-mansion as a means of reducing his monthly costs, the Hartford Courant reports.
It’s not known how much he’s trying to fetch for the elaborate crib, and according to his attorney, Stephen J. Savva, a deal to lease the home has not yet been reached.
The rapper (whose real name is Curtis Jackson) filed for bankruptcy after losing a lawsuit to Lastonia Leviston, who accused him of publishing a sex tape featuring her online, complete with crude commentary. It was purportedly to stoke a beef with fellow rapper Rick Ross, with whom Leviston was once romantically linked (the tape in question features Leviston with a different man).
A jury initially awarded Leviston $5 million in damages, with an additional $2 million in punitive damages tacked on later.
The home, which Jackson has been trying to sell, is something of a money pit for the rapper, who according to court filings shells out nearly $70,000 in monthly expenses related to the property.
It also has a legacy of bankruptcy surrounding it. According to the Courant, the home was built by Benjamin Sisti, a founder of Colonial Realty, which went bankrupt in 1990 after it was found that the company was operating a ponzi scheme. Jackson bought the home in 2003 for $4.1 million from boxing legend Mike Tyson, who — yup — also went bankrupt while living there.
During a court appearance in July, Jackson testified that his flashy lifestyle is largely an illusion, saying that, after posing for pictures with flashy vehicles and accessories, “I take the jewelry and the cars back to the stores.”
The rapper’s attorney has placed Jackson’s worth at $4.4 million.