Rick Ross was inspired to pursue business, following his mother’s entrepreneurial footsteps.

The Mississippi-born rapper shot to fame with his 2006 breakout hit “Hustlin,” which led to him signing his first major record deal with JAY-Z at Def Jam, notes HipHopDX.

“JAY-Z, I remember we went to eat after a game, and he was playing Rick Ross…‘Everyday I’m Hustlin,’” Former NBA player Jamal Crawford told Ross while they appeared on the “All The Smoke” podcast. “And Jay was mesmerized by the song. He was like, ‘Whip it, whip it real hard!’ He kept saying that part, he loved it.”

Rick Ross became an overnight success and began prioritizing real estate as he accumulated his fortune, which is reportedly an estimated $150 million net worth today. According to Celebrity Net Worth, this encompasses $90 million earned from albums and singles, revenue from his record label Maybach Music Group (established in 2009), and other ventures.

His decision to enter real estate dates back to his conversation with his mother, who worked several jobs while remaining a registered nurse.

“When I became a young millionaire for the first time, I went to my mother because she had always been a registered nurse and worked two and three jobs. She always bought real estate,” Ross told Forbes in a 2021 interview. “She came from Clarksdale, where the real estate was a lot cheaper. She would just keep buying houses. And I would say, ‘Mom, what do you think about the stock market?’ And she would say, ‘Son, I don’t really rock with the stock market. I don’t know much about it, but I know about real estate…So when you buy something, make sure you can touch it.'”

Ross has led by example with his entrepreneurial ventures, including his stake in Wingstop. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, as of September 2023, he owned nearly 30 locations, with a mix of leased and owned properties at specific locations.

In 2014, Rick Ross moved forward with a $5.8 million purchase to become a homeowner of a mansion in Fayetteville, GA. He expanded his estate by acquiring an additional 87 acres for $1 million in 2019, according to Forbes.

“To a lot of people, it would feel overwhelming to buy a property like that. I get it. The Fayetteville house is like 55,000 square feet and, 100-plus rooms and over 300 acres [with the added land I purchased]. But being an artist, I understand that it takes time to do great things, so I didn’t approach the Fayetteville house as if it was something that I would complete in a year or two years. I wanted to look at this as an investment, take my time and do something great with it,” Rick Ross mentioned to Forbes.

Ross also put down $3.5 million in March 2021 and now owns a 2.3-acre resort-style estate in Florida.

“My mother saw the house on her phone and immediately called me. The home had been listed for less than a week. My mother knows the things I love, what I am attracted to. When she sent me the link, I looked at the acreage and the nine-car garage and said, ‘Let’s look at this now.’ They arranged for me to see the property. I think I was in the home 10 minutes before telling the agent, ‘This is my house,'” he commented.