Rick Ross says his Wingstop money has moved into the stock market. The rapper made the case in a video this week after investor Eric Jackson posted on X that Wingstop’s own state filings show the Boss Wings companies tied to Ross’s family went from 21 open restaurants at the end of 2016 to just one, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the end of 2025. 50 Cent jumped on it right away, mocking Ross on Instagram for having a single location.
Ross didn’t dispute the count. He said he still loves Wingstop and called franchising an amazing experience, but argued that his investing now plays at a level 200 franchises couldn’t touch. He didn’t say which stocks he owns, how many shares, when he bought or what the stores sold for.
What did the filings show about Rick Ross’s Wingstop stores?
Jackson said he traced all 32 store numbers ever listed under the family’s Boss Wings companies. Of those, 28 are now listed under other franchisees. The filings give no price and no reason for the changes, and they only cover Boss Wings, so any other Wingstop interests Ross or his family hold wouldn’t show up.
One piece of the timeline was already public. In 2022, Wingstop said Boss Wings had handed its Memphis stores to a new operator. The last store standing is in Clarksdale, his mother’s hometown, which Ross talked about proudly in a 2021 interview, thanking his mother and sister for helping build the business.
What did Rick Ross say about moving to stocks?
Ross opened his video by assuring fans he’s still a lemon pepper stepper. He said he was down with Wingstop before he got into stocks, and that the stock game is a different world. He closed by telling fans to keep ordering their lemon pepper wings.
Rick Ross responds to the people questioning his franchise business with Wingstop & says he’s in the stock game https://t.co/p7TXDKFdMS
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) October 23, 2026
Does Rick Ross’s stock move hold up?
That’s the question 50 Cent didn’t ask. Ross never named the stock, but many fans took it to mean Wingstop shares. If so, timing is everything.
Wingstop went public in June 2015 at $19 a share. It closed at $119.54 on Oct. 23, still about six times its IPO price. But the stock has had a rough 2026. It’s down nearly 50% this year and far below its all-time closing high of $423.50, set in June 2024. The company reports third quarter results on Oct. 28.
Anyone who bought early is sitting on a big gain. Anyone who bought near the peak is down sharply. Without dates or numbers, only Ross knows which side of that line he’s on.
Why does the franchise vs. stock debate matter?
For many Black entrepreneurs, franchising has been the classic path to wealth you can see. It means storefronts, paychecks and a name on the building in your own community. Rick Ross’s run put Wingstops in Memphis and the Mississippi Delta, with his mother and sister helping run them. In 2021, he said owning a franchise meant hiring staff, picking managers and deciding whom to trust with the money.
Stocks are quieter. There’s no payroll and no managers. Both can build wealth, but only one builds a block.
The franchise years weren’t spotless. Baller Alert reports that in 2022 the Department of Labor found Boss Wings illegally deducted uniform, training and background check costs from workers’ pay at five Mississippi locations, and the company paid more than $114,000 in back wages and penalties.
Why is 50 Cent trolling Rick Ross again?
The feud goes back years and has heated up in 2026. 50 Cent previously mocked the sales of Ross’s album Set in Stone and claimed Ross’s $100 million house was listed on Airbnb. The Wingstop filings handed him fresh material.
Ross is still telling fans to order a 10 piece lemon pepper. Whether his portfolio is red or green right now is the one number he hasn’t shared.
