50 Cent: Any other good businessman would file for bankruptcy

Los Angeles - 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy because he didn't want to "become a target".

The 40-year-old rapper - whose real name is Curtis Jackson - recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and put in court papers to state he has assets and debts, which range between $10m and $50m, just days after a court ruled that the Candy Shop hitmaker should pay $5m to a woman who sued him in a sex tape case and he has now insisted that he's just taking "precautions" with the documentation.

50 said: "I'm taking the precautions that any other good businessperson would take in this situation. You know when you're successful and stuff, you become a target. I don't wanna be a bulls eye. I don't want anybody to pick me as the guy that they just come to with astronomical claims and go through all that."

The In Da Club star went on to insist his fans "shouldn't worry' as other wealthy stars, like Walt Disney and Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy too, and it is simply a matter of "reorganising" his finances.

Speaking to E! News, 50 said: "Walt Disney has filed bankruptcy. Donald Trump has filed bankruptcy. It means you're reorganising your finances, but it does stop things from moving forward that you don't want moving forward.

"I got a decent legal team. You don't have to worry."

Only two months ago, Forbes estimated his net worth was around $155m.