Page 35 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper
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and had no savings plans for their money. Almost as
quickly as Smith earned his millions, he spent it all.
Smith bought a mansion outside Philadelphia. The
home had five bedrooms, a pool room, and a living room,
where he installed a basketball net. Sometimes he paid for
travel expenses for his parents to join him while on tour.
When he was bored, he went shopping. On two occasions he
flew to London and Tokyo just to buy clothes. He also
purchased all kinds of fancy jewelry, including a gold
necklace that spelled out “Fresh Prince” in diamonds.
Before long, Smith was the owner of six cars and two
motorcycles. His father thought Will was wasting his money. He
once barked at his son, “Why do you need six cars when you
only have one butt?”16 Meanwhile, Smith was busy using his new
wealth to impress women and throw parties for his friends—and
with so much money, he suddenly had a lot of friends.
The rap duo’s third album, And in This Corner . . . , sold
well, but not nearly as well as He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper.
About five hundred thousand copies were sold, earning the
album a Gold Record.17 For most people, this would have
provided more than enough money, but it was not enough
for Will to keep up his extravagant lifestyle.
Before long, Will received word from the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), the department of the United States
government that collects income taxes. The IRS notified
Smith that he owed the government millions of dollars in
taxes. But the rap artist had one big problem. He had not put
any money aside for taxes.