Mario Sentell Giden Mims, widely known as Yo Gotti, has been a fixture in the American rap scene for decades. With his breakthrough 2016 album, “The Art of Hustle,” reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, Yo Gotti has built a substantial career and a significant business empire. However, the rapper recently disclosed a major financial oversight that nearly cost him his real estate investments.
In an interview with “Earn Your Leisure,” Yo Gotti shared a candid account of his near-catastrophic mistake of not paying property taxes on his numerous homes. He revealed that his lack of financial literacy regarding property taxes almost led to the government seizing his properties.
Growing up, Yo Gotti associated taxes with celebrations. “When you heard of taxes, my mama and ’em got tax money. That’s when we got new Jordans. We got new outfits… It was a celebration when it was tax time,” he explained. This perception stemmed from the tax refunds his mother received, which she used to buy gifts. This early misconception about taxes carried into his adult life and business dealings.
As an investor, Yo Gotti purchased 10 to 15 homes with cash, unaware that property taxes were still required on fully paid properties. “At this time, bro, I got 10, 15 houses I done paid cash for that I had for four, five years that I’d never paid a property tax on because I didn’t know,” he said. The rapper received a warning letter stating that his properties could be confiscated if he didn’t pay the due taxes.
Yo Gotti immediately sought legal advice. His criminal lawyer referred him to a tax lawyer and a certified public accountant (CPA), who then educated him on property tax obligations. This experience was a wake-up call, highlighting the importance of financial literacy.
To prevent others from making the same mistakes, Yo Gotti now advises his artists at Collective Music Group (CMG) to hire CPAs and gain financial literacy. “One of the things I do, we make sure that first time we give you a dollar, we give you money, make sure you’re doing this, and we even advise certain things, ‘Make sure you get you a CPA,’” said Yo Gotti, who is the founder and CEO of CMG. He uses his own experience as a cautionary tale to emphasize the importance of managing finances correctly.
Despite his lack of formal education—he never finished college—Yo Gotti has built a $100 million empire. Inspired by Jay-Z’s business acumen, he recently enrolled in UCLA’s Anderson School of Management to study corporate valuation. His business ventures include the record label CMG, which manages artists like Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla, and BlocBoy JB, the restaurant Prive in Memphis, and a minority stake in the MLS team D.C. United.
Additionally, Yo Gotti owns a luxurious 10,000-square-foot Tuscan-style mansion north of Malibu and has an impressive watch collection valued at around $10 million, featuring brands like Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin.
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