Nick Cannon Explains How He Blew $200K Will Smith Gave Him
After being discovered at the age of 17, Nick Cannon recalls going bankrupt even though Will Smith gave him a $200,000 check. Cannon disclosed one of his early career errors in an interview with Angela Yee, even though Smith had given him financial advice.
At the time, the sizeable check appeared to be a windfall, but bad spending choices soon took him from having a good financial situation to being in debt, teaching him an important lesson in responsible money management.
When Will found me at 17, I got a $200,000 check at 18, and I saw Will had a red Range Rover. I wanted a black one,” said Cannon, who admitted that despite Smith’s advice to save the money, he chose to spend it on the car to fit in with his friends.
“He’s the biggest movie star in the world and this is ’98, end of ’98 and [Will] was like ‘don’t buy it’ and I was like, ‘yo. you just gave me $200,000!’ Like, and at the time I think Range Rovers is like 60 bands back then.
So I was like ‘I’m getting this!’ And you know, I be hanging around Kenan and Kel, Ray J and all of them – and like, Brandy had the Lexus Land Cruiser, and, you know, Kenan had the 4-Runner, Kel had the Expedition. I was like, ‘I’m getting the Range Rover,’ the most expensive one just to stunt and Will was like ‘don’t do it.’”
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Nick Cannon revealed that the car, nearly costing his entire check, was quickly destroyed, leading him to move back into his mom’s rented condo.
“In less than a year, I totalled that car, lost it, and found myself living back at my mom’s house. A year later, my mom was in that condo in San Diego, reflecting on the time when I thought I had made it, thought I was rich, and believed I would be set for life,” Cannon shared.
Will Smith told Nick Cannon a similar story about making a lot of money from “Parents Just Don’t Understand” but ending up broke. The song is historically significant because it won a Grammy and was sampled for the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air intro.
Cannon recalled his reaction to Will’s financial advice. However, reality set in when he realized that his funds had been depleted after taxes and other expenses. Reflecting on the early life lesson, he admitted to making mistakes, such as failing to purchase his mother’s condo and being misled by his first accountant.
“That was my first time getting an accountant and my first accountant kinda did me a little shady because I didn’t know no better…I just didn’t know no better. And they was doing what they do and not telling me. I’m, you know, buying Range Rovers at 18 years old, and that’s what I wanted,” he reflected on the early life lesson.
Nick Cannon Explains How He Blew $200K Will Smith Gave Him
