10 Ex-Convicts Who Became Successful Entrepreneurs
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Guilty people get convicted and sent to prison for a chance to amend their ways and reform before rejoining society. While old habits die hard for some, others manage to shake off their past misdeeds and criminal records; and end up dominating the business realm.
Unfortunately, employers are always hesitant to hire a former convict with a criminal record. According to the National Institute of Justice, most inmates, ranging between 60% to 75%, become jobless even after completing their convicted term. For most ex-convicts, the trick to surviving after release is to employ themselves and venture into entrepreneurship.
It’s a daunting task to have a successful start-up, especially if you are an ex-convict, but some managed to defy the odds and rewrite their story. These ex-convicts are an inspiration and have proven that you can still curve your path up the success hill no matter the situation.
Here’s a list of 10 ex-convicts who struggled but eventually made it out back in real life as prominent entrepreneurs.
1. Robert Downey, Jr
Robert Downey Jr? Ring a bell? What about Tony Stark? Iron Man? Yes, that’s Robert Downey Jr for you.
In 1999, Downey Jr’s violation of probation saw him sent to prison. The violation resulted from possession of drugs and a pistol found in the actor’s car after he was pulled over for overspeeding. In 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown pardoned over 90 people, and Downey Jr was among them.
Drugs and substance abuse weighed Downey Jr down and affected his profession. Through arrests, addiction, and rehab engagement, he was unable to maintain a good job. Downey Jr, however, got clean in 2003 and has held the status since then.
The scenario is quite familiar to young rising stars who succumb to substance abuse. The actor’s career was dwindling, and he slowly faded from Hollywood until Iron Man hit the theatres. From then, it has just been success after success. Without him, would Avengers Endgame be what it was? He managed to free himself from addiction and rise above his criminal record to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
2. 50 Cent
Curtis Jackson, popularly known as 50 Cent, grew up in New York City, South Jamaica. The neighborhood was well known for its aggression and gang violence. 50 Cent’s mother, who was 15 when she got him, was a renowned drug dealer and was killed under mysterious circumstances when 50 cent was just eight.
His grandmother took him in together with nine other children under her care. 50 Cent loved his grandmother but spent a considerable amount of time out in the street. When he hit 12, he already knew how the streets operated and was a crack dealer. He did that in an attempt to be independent and not overburden his grandmother. By the age of 15, 50 Cent had his first gun. By 19, he had cemented his position as the neighborhood kingpin, which saw him collecting over $150,000 a month. He had to drop out of school and serve his term in jail after he was convicted.
As a music fan, he tried scribbling down rhymes and aspired to venture into the music industry, inspired by his favorite musicians Rakima and Run-DMC. After getting his son Marquise, 50 Cent’s life changed, and he quit drugs to focus on music.
Curtis Jackson III got to serve a sixth-month sentence that saw him evade the original ruling that stretched up to 9 years over drug-related charges. His music career picked up fast, his first album being a hit and the many others that followed. He now acts and also produced movies based on his life story.
3. Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo! Remember Spy Kids? Breaking Bad? Machete? Machete is the movie that propelled Trejo to stardom as he was the first Chicano lead action star. Currently, he has featured in over 200 films and TV programs.
Trejo was already a heroin user by the age of 12 and soon became a dealer by 14. Trejo involved himself in drug trafficking and robbery, which saw him spend most of his youth behind bars in San Quentin and Folsom.
In 1968, Trejo found sobriety and immediately began his campaign advocating for recovery as he founded rehab centers. Trejo now is a star in most action films he’s featured in, his heavy build giving him acting roles as the bad guy in most of his movies.
4. Frank William Abagnale
At 16 years old, Frank William Abagnale was already an expert con artist pretending to be a lawyer, pilot, and professor. These mind games saw him write close to $2.5 million in fraud checks. He was sentenced to prison and got to spend five years. He changed into a new guy when he got out and cooperated with the US government to debunk fraud.
Currently, he runs a consulting firm that helps corporations and other law enforcement agencies on issues that deal with security and fraud. His conning skills were so good that actor Leonardo DiCaprio depicted his life story in ‘Catch Me if You Can.’
5. Malcolm X
Little Malcolm, as he was known before he became Malcolm X, got imprisoned when he was 20 years old for burglary. While in jail, he became a Muslim and always craved to know more about his new faith. That sparked his burning desire to read and write more. He read an entire dictionary word by word, read all prison articles, including history, philosophy, literature, and science. He says prison time was when he was truly free in his entire life. Talk about a change in perspective!
He is known worldwide for his advocacy and preachings on peace and always standing up for African American rights.
6. Kevin Mitnick
Having your name on the FBI’s most-wanted list is no small feat if you are a cyber-criminal. Kevin Mitnick, after many cybercrimes, found himself on that list. The trial began when he was 16 back in 1979 when he somehow managed to traverse across his native city of Los Angeles on the bus network through fraudulent means. If that wasn’t enough, he also hacked a computer network and stole software that saw his arrest in 1988. He was imprisoned for a year then released later on under supervision.
He then went under the radar for close to two and half years. The FBI finally apprehended him in 1995 and slapped Mitnick with five years imprisonment over hacking allegations on over 40 companies. He was so good at hacking he left behind a fan base when he got arrested.
Today, Mitnick and his company Mitnick Security act as security consultants to organizations and have a 100% success rate on system infiltration and data protection from harm.
7. Kweisi Mfume
Kweisi Mfume was 16 years old when his mother succumbed to cancer, and that’s when his life tipped for the worse. He became involved with bad people and even became the gang leader. He was incarcerated on alleged theft after numerous theft cases were reported in the area.
After that, he decided to ditch his old lifestyle, a decision he never regrets today. Mfume enrolled in John Hopkins University, where he got his degree. He then got elected to the Baltimore City Council before finally heading the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
8. Frederick Hutson
Fredrick Hutson found himself at loggerheads with the authorities at the age of 23 over drug trafficking charges. While in prison, he identified how problematic it was for inmates to communicate with their loved ones. With no access to phones or emails, even the prisons’ free calls and snail mail weren’t close to being enough.
Frederick Hutson saw that the prison population was huge, which offered an untapped market, and he offered a solution to the issue. Thus Pigeon.ly was born.
Pigeon.ly acts as a bridge between the digital and analog realms by printing emails and photos then allowing you to send them to the inmate in prison. The site also has a database that keeps track of the prisoners and their current location. Pigeon.ly is pocket-friendly and more convenient than the other available means of communication.
In its induction back in 2012, they had an estimate of 500 pictures a month. Now they handle over 5000 pictures a day, with phone calls having up to 2 million minutes. For unlimited talks through the phone, the charges are $4.99 a month. Hutson also hires parolees who demonstrate strong work ethics.
9. Jay-Z
Shawn Carter, also known worldwide as Jay-Z, is a successful musician and entrepreneur. Jay-Z is arguably one of the most successful rappers in the world. Unfortunately, he found himself on the wrong side of the law multiple times in his younger years. Young Carter grew up in New Yorks’ Brooklyn, where he witnessed his first murder at the tender age of nine. His father abandoned them when he was 11, and by the age of 13, Carter was a crack dealer. Life on the streets was a do-or-die scenario. In 1999, Carter stabbed a music official as he was slowly rising in the rap game and got sentenced to a three-year probation.
Carter is now a respected household name and has ventured into business with his wife, including owning Armand de Brignac’s champagne brand.
10. Mark Wahlberg
The youngest among nine siblings, Mark Wahlberg began truancy in school when he was 14 and then progressed to drug trafficking. He got a lawsuit for hurling insults based on race against other youths. When Mark was 16, he got apprehended for roughing up a Vietnamese man leaving him blind. He stayed in prison for 45 days, where he realigned his behavior, morally devoting himself to be a Catholic.
He ventured into the world of filmmaking, where his production Entourage was a great success. He then delved into the food industry with his family, opening the Wahlburgers in 2011 in Boston. They have opened over 70 restaurants and are looking forward to expanding the franchise.
Conclusion
Some ex-convicts are reformed and want to come back to society with a clean start. However, they find it challenging with a tainted past and are forced to overcome obstacles before fully integrating. People need to have faith in the justice reform system that aims at correcting individuals who have wronged in one way or another.
There are many successful ex-convicts who, through their start-ups, have created jobs for others, showing society that people can change for the good. Prisons are not for punishment purposes but act as rehabilitation and reintegration centers, a crucial part of the fight against crime. We need to have a little faith in the system and offer ex-convicts the second chance they deserve.
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