LaLa Anthony wasn’t always riding high as a well-paid actress and television personality. She shared the “patience” and humility it took to acquire the long-term wealth she has today.
The New York native has allowed the world to witness her transformation, from her early days as a radio host to becoming a VJ on MTV’s Total Request Live, and eventually making her mark as an actress. With standout roles in The Chi, BMF, and Power, Anthony has built a thriving career and an estimated $30 million net worth that she doesn’t take for granted.
“I think it’s about patience and pacing yourself. A lot of times, we want the quick grab, the quick money scheme, the get-rich-fast scheme,” she told Essence about acquiring wealth. “When I look at my finances, my financial growth happened over a lot of years.”
Finding fame at a young age, Anthony admitted her early spending habits weren’t always wise. Caught up in appearances, she often made material purchases to keep up and look the part.
“I was buying things that had no value just to look the part,” Anthony said. “It was okay if I was living in an apartment with four of us in one bedroom, but as long as I had a great shirt or a great piece of jewelry, I felt good about it.”
One of her more frivolous early purchases was a diamond pendant she bought alongside her longtime friend, Ludacris.
“Ludacris and I went to the jewelry store and we wanted to buy these diamond pendants,” Anthony recalled. “I remember it was like I was paying on it every month or every couple of weeks, and it took me a long time to pay it off, but that was what we wanted so bad.”
Now, as she gets her son Kiyan Anthony ready for college and adulthood, she shared the financial advice she’s passing down, while still allowing a little room for the occasional splurge on some material pleasures.
“Take a small amount of that and buy yourself something nice. You deserve that,” Anthony said. “But then take the rest and put it in a savings account so it can grow and you can make more money in the future.”
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