Forbes’ list of the top-earning hip-hop acts of 2017 starts off at No. 20 with Lil Yachty, who made a reported $11 million off of over 100 live dates and endorsement deals with Nautica, Target, and more. At just 20 years old, Yachty has figured out how to strike the right balance between showing off his wealth and maintaining a steady stream of money that keeps coming his way. In an interview on Vlad TV, Yachty explains that his interest in stock investments came through a person that his mother introduced him to. That individual not only advised him on which companies are fundamentally safe bets, but he taught him how stocks work in general.
Yachty’s desire to acquire knowledge on matters related to money extends to cryptocurrency. He admits that he was somewhat aware of bitcoin coming from his life before breaking into the rap game. Yachty, whose real name is Miles McCollum, was arrested at the age of 18 for credit card fraud. “I was in college and got arrested, it was a real scare for me/wake-up call/‘Man, you better do something with your life ‘cause you don’t wanna be a bum’ call,” he admits. “That’s really why I took music serious. Once I got arrested, the next day I was like, ‘Hell nah.’”
Yachty confesses that turning his life around was primarily about making his mother proud because she was "great," and he wanted to be the same as her. His mom truly has to be proud now.
