Inside Tyler Perry’s $1.4 billion fortune: How the Hollywood mogul makes and spends his wealth

From early plays to Madea

Perry’s first play, “I Know I’ve Been Changed,” opened in Atlanta in 1992 to a largely empty theater, according to his official website. Madea emerged after the actress playing a grandmother in his 2000 stage production “I Can Do Bad All by Myself” failed to appear, leaving Perry to perform the role.

The Madea film series became one of Perry’s best-known projects. “A Madea Family Funeral” earned $27 million in its March 2019 opening weekend, Variety reported, and “Madea’s Destination Wedding” arrived on Netflix in July 2025.

Films and television deals

Perry’s films have generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales. He had a six-year first-look agreement with Lionsgate from 2008 through 2014, and many Madea movies were distributed by the studio. Later entries in the franchise were released on Netflix. After leaving Lionsgate, Perry partnered with OWN and Viacom, the parent company of BET. During a seven-year relationship with OWN that ended in 2019, he created series including “The Have and Have Nots” and “If Loving You Is Wrong.”

BET stake and studio assets

A September 2020 Forbes profile estimated that about $60 million of Perry’s fortune came from his stake in BET+. The service reportedly gave him 25% equity and paid him $150 million a year to produce films and television shows.

Forbes valued Tyler Perry Studios, his 330-acre Atlanta production complex, at $280 million. Perry bought land at the historic Fort McPherson army base for $30 million in 2015 and built the studio there.

The grounds include 12 sound stages and 200 acres of greenspace. “Black Panther” was among the first films made on the new stages, and the property also includes neighborhoods, mansions and a White House replica, Architectural Digest reported after touring the site with Perry in 2019.