My Favorite Billionaire
Tyler Perry’s rags to riches story is better than any fairy tale
Several years ago, I attended a charity fundraiser at a 58-acre estate called Dean Gardens. After wandering around the 42,000 square foot pink mansion with its wedding chapel, private amphitheater, 24-karat-gold sinks, 18-hole golf course, and helipad, I decided whoever built it had more money than they knew what to do with.
The house was put up for sale only two years after its completion and went unsold for 17 years. Then in 2010, Tyler Perry bought it for $7.6 million, slightly less than the $40 million asking price.
I didn’t know anything about Tyler Perry, but since I had been to Dean Gardens, the purchase piqued my curiosity. Who was the Atlanta-based entertainment mogul who bought the pink mansion?
“Don’t you know who Tyler Perry is?” My partner asked when I mentioned it to him. “He created the Madea movies. He both directs and acts in them.”
I remembered the Madea movies. They were funny and entertaining, and I was impressed to find out Perry had not only directed them. He played the starring role, dressing up as Madea, a tough, elderly black woman.
The Madea movies generated their share of controversy. Renowned screenwriters such as Spike Lee believed the Madea character perpetrated stereotypes of Black…