Nick Cannon Shares He Went Broke After Blowing $200k That Will Smith Gave Him Early On In His Career: I Was Living Back At My Mom’s

Nick Cannon Shares He Went Broke After Blowing $200k That Will Smith Gave Him Early On In His Career: I Was Living Back At My Mom’s

It appears Nick Cannon was learning tough financial lessons at just 18-years-old. 

In a recent interview with radio host Angela Yee,  Nick Cannon reflects on actor Will Smith guiding him on his path to stardom at 18-years-old and giving him his first large check of $200,000.

Nick Cannon

Actor and comedian Nick Cannon says:

“Will found me at like 17 and by the time I was 18 the check came in.”

Nick Cannon, 41, remembers receiving the money and wanting to purchase the same Range Rover Will Smith had at the time:

“And at the time I remember Will had a red Range Rover. And I was like ‘I want a black one.'”

Although Will Smith, 53, provided Nick Cannon with $200,000, he gave Cannon stern advice not to buy the car.

The “Wild N Out” creator continues:

“And that was ‘98, end of ‘98 and [Will] was like ‘don’t buy it’ and I was like, ‘yo. you just gave me $200,000!’ Like, and at the time I think Range Rovers is like 60 bands back then. So I was like ‘I’m getting this!’ And you know, I be hanging around Kenan and Kel, Ray J and all of them – and like, Brandy had the Lexus Land Cruiser, and, you know, Kenan had the 4-Runner, Kel had the Expedition. I was like, ‘I’m getting the Range Rover,’ the most expensive one just to stunt and Will was like ‘don’t do it.'”

However, Cannon didn’t take Smith’s advice:

“And literally that was probably my whole check. Not even a year [later]- I totalled that car and lost it and was living…”

Angela Yee, 46, cuts Nick off:

“So you did do it!”

Nick replies:

“I did it and was living back at my moms, and like me and my mom’s was living in that condo back in San Diego a year later, thinking where I thought I had made it, and was rich, and was gonna be set for life so, like, Will Smith often tells his story about how he went broke after ‘Parents Just Don’t Understand.’ He literally would tell me that story.”

Nick Cannon

Will Smith found fame after releasing his hit single with DJ Jazzy Jeff “Parents Just Don’t Understand” in the late 1980s. According to reports, Smith didn’t pay his taxes and blew through all of his money. To make matters worse, when he released his second album with DJ Jazzy Jeff it didn’t do so well.

Will Smith

Nick adds:

“Yeah he was like, ‘I made a million dollars, won a Grammy, and I was broke. You know before this Fresh Prince. Don’t-like, save this money.’ And I was like ‘aight aight, I’m good.’ Like, you just gave me a whole television deal, this the first $200,000. This is gonna keep coming. And like you, said it breaks down. Instantly, the government gets half of it. And then what you don’t realize is representation. I was new to it. You know and even still to this day, your representation is gonna be probably at least 30%”

Representation is a team that helps celebrities with their careers. Most celebrities have representation such as managers, lawyers, stylists, accountants, and more. Nick Cannon continues and reflects on being ignorant of this process at 18-years-old:

“That was my first time getting an accountant and my first accountant kinda did me a little shady because I didn’t know no better and I wouldn’t say he did me shady, I just didn’t know no better. And they was doing what they do and not telling me. I’m, you know, buying Range Rovers at 18 years old, and thats what I wanted.”

One of Cannon’s regrets was not buying a condo over the Range Rover:

“I rented my mom’s condo. I wish I would’ve bought it. I wish instead of buying that, that Range Rover, I would’ve just bought my mom’s condo.”

What are your thoughts on the lesson Nick Cannon learned? Tell us below.