Business & Finance
A Deeper Look At Tyler Perry & Tyler Perry studios
Business & Finance
December 16, 2022
By Lunar Visitor Staff Writer
After being shut out of the mainstream of entertainment, Hollywood's newest billionaire wrote, produced, and starred in his American success story. Known as Tyler Perry or Madea by media and cultural critics alike, Perry has had an unprecedented rise to success in Hollywood.
Perry's journey started in childhood, making his mother laugh with impersonations. But he was dealing with more than poverty at the time, brought up by an abusive man who wasn't his father. Tyler Perry found inspiration to write from Oprah Winfrey's talk show and spent his twenties touring small theaters across the country, performing plays he wrote, produced, and starred in a crash course in what was to come.
After dropping out of high school, Perry began doing odd jobs while writing scripts until he put on his first play, I Know I've Been Changed, a story of child-abuse survivors. Eventually, after many tweaks, his production took off.
Perry toured relentlessly on the "Chitlin Circuit," making a name for himself among fellow Black Americans with his iconic character Madea. In 2001, Oprah invited Perry on her show and became his mentor and friend shortly after, teaching him the principle of "writing your own checks".
Next, Perry looked towards Hollywood to make the next break in his career. He rented a warehouse in south Atlanta and converted it into a soundstage, investing in tools of the trade he didn't know much about (lights, booms, mics, set decorations) and began shooting. He concentrated on shooting a multigenerational Black family living together in Atlanta, which inspired his first sitcom.
In 2006, the show was picked up by CW Television Network, now known as CW network. The show's title was "House of Payne," which pulled in very high ratings and eventually spawned its spin-off titled "Meet the Browns" in 2008. A much more extensive network, TBS, took note of this success and offered Tyler $200M to leave CW and make the show exclusive to their network instead. This was a defining moment for Perry because it was the first time he was given a blank check to create something he wanted to make.
Seeing an opportunity, Tyler quickly accepted the deal and spent the next two years building his new studio complex from the ground up. Tyler Perry Studios, America's most prolific production facility for Black audiences, was once a Confederate military base.
He paid $30 million for the property in 2015 and has since spent $250 million building a studio operation that is more than twice the size of the Warner Bros. backlot. All of it was paid for with the money he's earned in over the past 15 years of producing movies and television programming.
Today, the 51-year-old entertainer owns his entire creative output, which includes more than 1,200 television episodes, 22 feature films, and at least two dozen stage plays, as well as a 330-acre studio lot on Atlanta's southern outskirts.
Tyler Perry's story is a testament to the American entrepreneurial spirit and his unyielding belief in himself--and the Black community at large--right from the start. From homeless to billionaire with a net worth of $1B+ in just over two decades, he proves that anything is possible with drive and determination.
Business & Finance
The First Black-Owned Stock Exchange aims to help Black-owned Companies go Public.
By Lunar Visitor Staff Writer
December 16, 2022
Bill Ellison, an investor and Chairman of Cadiz Capital Holding LLC has partnered with lawyer Joe Cecala to launch The Dream Exchange, the nation's first Black-owned stock exchange. The Chicago-based exchange aims to list smaller companies seeking to go public, particularly those owned by minorities.
The Dream Exchange will be a new stock exchange focusing on small business capital formation and diversity by leveraging the power of the American investing public. This new stock exchange will enable investors to empower innovators and emerging businesses in unprecedented ways. Cadiz Capital Holding LLC, a minority-owned private equity firm, has agreed to become the majority owner of Dream Exchange, marking a historic event in the 230-year history of US stock exchanges, as there has never been a majority Black-owned stock exchange in America.
"We felt we could help small business people achieve their goals," said Bill Ellison, chairman, and CEO of Cadiz Capital LLC, the Dream Exchange's lead investor, in an interview. "Instead of being trapped in the venture capital model, which can only be disruptive to growth companies, our new platform is focused on financial empowerment for minority businesses."
Dream Exchange and Cadiz Capital Holding LLC have forged a superior alternative for middle-market investors and businesses seeking liquidity and diversification. The new stock exchange is a complementary marketplace that allows diverse entrepreneurs to gain access to the financial community while empowering the next generation of business leaders through increased access to capital and resources.
While there are numerous explanations for economic growth or decline in the United States, the fact remains that 92% of all jobs are created following a company's initial public offering - even though only 1% of all companies are publicly traded. However, there is a severe disconnect between entrepreneurs and the marketplace, as many small businesses find it challenging to raise capital due to a lack of resources and expertise in navigating the traditional capital markets process.
Dream Exchange's objective is to establish a space where the general investing public can invest in small and emerging businesses - including minority-led companies - in a socially responsible manner while diversifying their portfolios and increasing their overall returns. The exchange has been regulated under existing state and federal securities laws to safeguard investors and maximize transparency in the operation of the market.
Rather than establishing a purely electronic secondary trading platform, Dream Exchange will list new companies with game-changing ideas early when investors see the most potential opportunity. "The Dream Exchange is a real solution to the long-term systemic issues plaguing our country by providing a marketplace where money flows to any organizations that help us survive better as a society," said Founder and CEO Joe Cecala.
Its establishment follows a recent trend of alternative stock exchange models, such as the Investors Exchange in New York, the Long-Term Stock Exchange in San Francisco, and the Members Exchange in New Jersey. These platforms aim to move more slowly and provide equal opportunity for all investors to make deals. However, The Dream Exchange is the only one that focuses on bringing Black businesses to market.
