In an appearance on The R&B Money Podcast with Tank and J. Valentine, Chris Brown shared that he started investing in Burger King franchises when he was still a teenager.
"I was 17 when I started trying to invest in certain things, just ‘cause I knew… You don’t know how long you going to be successful and it’s not like every artist can make it look like they getting money, getting money," he shared. "If you’re not a touring act, if you’re not doing stuff, you need an exit strategy. … My investments were, like, into Burger Kings and stuff like that just so I could have a portfolio of, you know, constant income. That was my first step."
After securing a constant stream of income thanks to Burger King, Brown said that he negotiated a 50-50 profit split deal with Jive Records before it was absorbed into RCA Records. He was 25 when he negotiated that deal, and by 28 he gained ownership over his master recordings from 2011’s F.A.M.E. onward. "So I'm more like, you know, I'm able to now see real money or something from what I've created," Brown added. "Now I get to own all of that, you know, and it's like what you said, I'm a testament to that, like, hey, I'm not saying put your head down, just be the best you."
In 2015, Brown told Us Weekly that he owned 14 Burger King restaurants. Per Franchise Help, the company requires franchise owners to pay $50,000 and all costs associated with the new restaurant. In addition, they must have a net worth of at least $1.5 million and have approximately $500,000 in liquidity. It's unclear if Brown still owns the Burger King locations, but he did run into some legal issues last year on account of his plans to acquire two Popeyes locations.
According to legal documents published online in September 2023, City National Bank filed a $2 million lawsuit against Brown over an unpaid loan he took out to purchase two Popeyes restaurants. “As of February 17, 2023, Borrower and Guarantors owe $2,140,901.74 in unpaid principal and interest," the lawsuit read.
