Mejia 1

Jose Mejia

Mrs. Erika Garza

English 1302

10 December 2021

Exploitation: The art of money

It is said that money does not make someone a bad person but just reveals who they truly

were all along, especially when they were willing to do anything to have it. There are countless

instances where money played a major role in the destruction of families, friends, and

partnerships and the thought alone should be enough to open people’s eyes to prevent this from

happening in the future. Because people are mostly caring by nature, it is hard to think that

anyone a person looks up to or trusts may be using them for profit or exploiting anyone for that

matter. If there is anything to remember about this subject it is that when it comes to money,

there is no telling how it will end or, more so, if it even will. Celebrities have been taken

advantage of countless times and it should come as no surprise that it happens every day, even

though we do not hear about it, most of them do not have a clue that they are being used. Even

worse, some will use someone’s religious faith to manipulate them into taking as much as they

can without a single shred of remorse. In addition, the need to want to be part of something

wonderful, for instance the perfect family, will make people blind into realizing the people they

are admiring are incredibly terrible towards others. We call these people influencers because they

influence people’s minds and can control them into purchasing something even if the item is not

any good.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez is beloved by everyone who knows her music and the

kindhearted person she was to everyone regardless of social status. For those in the Mexican
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American community she is sacred, to say the least, as her music is alive and well even 23 years

after her passing. At the time of her death, she was only 23 years of age, left no will, and was

married to her husband Chris Perez. For the entirety of Selena’s music career her father,

Abraham Quintanilla Jr, oversaw the music, events, and the business practices the family and his

children pursued. Although the main source of revenue was Selena herself, as people traveled

from all over so that they could have a chance to see her perform, she was only paid 25% of her

total earnings. Of course, Selena never questioned this as she trusted her father and thought what

he was doing was in her best interest. Unfortunately, Selena was killed by gunshot on March 31,

1995, by fan club president Yolanda Saldivar. Two months after her passing, her father Abraham

Quintanilla began his interest in her legacy as he understood that Chris was the frontrunner to

inherit everything Selena left behind which included music, boutiques, and a fashion line.

Abraham approached Chris with the proposal to sign over all his rights of Selena and in return

would receive 25% of the total earnings that would be made using Selena’s image, music, and

likeness down the road. In 2016, Chris Perez wrote a book dedicated to his late wife and was in

talks with Endemol Shine North America about producing a television show based on the book.

Once the Quintanilla family got news of this, they filed a lawsuit stating that writing this book

and producing a show for-profit breaks the agreement Abraham and Chris made in 1995. Since

then, Chris has countersued stating that the agreement should be voided because he was

approached in duress as he was still mourning the death of his wife at the time. This has led to a

lengthy legal battle between the two sides that has recently been resolved, unfortunately, the

terms of the agreement have not been released. As of today, Abraham Quintanilla remains the

executive owner of everything involving Selena and continues to make a profit off her name

which includes threatening legal action towards anyone who attempts to use Selena’s music,
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name, or image for any amount of profit regardless of the amount and does not pay their fair

share to the family.

Money is universal in the way that it can be used for gain and the way it can infiltrate

even places that are meant to bring joy, hope, and holiness into people's lives. It is an unfortunate

truth that regardless of how corrupt it may be, people need something to put their faith in, and so

the cycle continues in churches across the country. Jesse Duplantis and Kenneth Copeland are

the centers of controversy when it comes to the flawed tax code that liberates any ministry from

paying taxes. They have also been the most famous to receive backlash for their luxurious

lifestyles as many people believe living such ways contradicts the very words they are preaching.

It seems that a person needs to believe that they are good people and are looking for any sort of

hint that they will be well off in the afterlife and so they become easy prey for predators such as

these. Duplantis has a net worth of over $20 million which derives from his book sales, events he

is hired to participate in, DVD sales, and donations given to his church by his followers. Because

everything he is involved in goes through his ministerial company, Jesse Duplantis Ministries,

the profits of his ventures are astounding since they are tax-free as per the IRS code 501. A

couple of years ago Duplantis became the target for many as he went viral on the internet when

one of his videos forced people to look closely into him and his questionable practices. In the

video, Duplantis is seen asking his donors for an upgraded private jet that was worth $54 million

at the time as he mentioned his current jet became obsolete compared to the luxuries this new

plane provided. He also defended his cry for help by stating ”I truly believe that if Jesus was

physically alive today he wouldn’t be riding a donkey.”

Longtime friend and minister Kenneth Copeland is no stranger when it comes to

controversy of the same kind Jesse Duplantis has faced. Worth a staggering $300 million,
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Copeland makes his fortune thanks to his company, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, through the

same sources as Duplantis. Copeland is the owner of several homes throughout the United States

with his permanent residence being valued at over $6 million as it comes equipped with an

airport that houses the three private jets that he claims he needs to spread the word of Jesus

faster. When approached and asked about why he felt the need to have so many private airliners

he defended himself by stating “If I flew commercial, I’d have to stop 65 percent of what I’m

doing.” In 2018 Copeland purchased a Gulfstream V private Jet from film director Tyler Perry

for an undisclosed amount and shared the glory to his followers by posting on his website “Glory

to God! It’s Ours!” followed by a picture of himself standing next to the airliner. Of course, he

saw this as an opportunity to reach out once again to his donors by stating the work was not done

yet and began asking for $2.5 million to upgrade the jet, purchase a new hangar to store it in, and

runway renovations; within a few weeks the money was raised, and the upgrades were added.

It is apparent that when it comes to the need for money, no rock will be remained

unturned to achieve that goal. Throughout our country, some preachers use the prosperity gospel

so they can live a lavish lifestyle that is not only tax-free but raised with minimum effort. These

preachings infuse the notion that the more money that is donated, the closer you are to salvation

in the afterlife and the better karma you will receive in this one. For most people, church and

religion are the basis of their entire existence as they seem to have found something in the

subject that makes them feel complete or perhaps not so alone. There is no doubt prosperity

gospel preachers are aware of this and take complete advantage of it as to deny a preacher is seen

as denying Jesus himself because most of these preachers have convinced their audience that

they have been specifically chosen to do this line of work.

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As the internet progresses and we enter the age of web 3.0 which ideals mainly on the

thought that everything can be done through the connectivity we experience while using the

internet, there is no question that it is a great place to sell products or convince an audience those

things are better than how they truly are. It is because people can gather such a huge following

from the comfort of their own home that the term “influencers” has become immensely more

popular in recent years. For some, being an influencer is the most important part of their

existence as it becomes their job but most importantly their personality, and with such a huge

responsibility comes its advantages.

The Ace family is a popular YouTube channel that has over 19 million subscribers, it is

run by the McBroom Family with the parents being Austin and Catherine McBroom. As many

family channels on YouTube do, the focus and the most filmed aspect of the channel is their

children who are constantly in the spotlight of the theme of the video and, often, put in awkward

situations to receive a reaction from their audience by how their children respond to the

situations the parents put them in. With a net worth of $18 million from ad revenue on their

videos, merchandising, and special courses on how to be a millionaire that they offer, the

McBroom’s use this to invest in other companies that they begin with various business partners.

Unfortunately, the recurring theme of this family is the ability to be accused of fraud by their

fanbase and their partners as the products they introduce either never arrive, arrive damaged, or

are nowhere near as advertised. When the tension is at its highest due to the shady practices they

commit to their audience, there is always a YouTube video or social media post that offers some

sort of clarity. The McBroom’s are notorious for always blaming their business partners for the

lack of quality or response to their customer service department and make themselves to be the

victims as well by stating they were frauded and taken advantage of. Offering no more
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explanations or resolutions their followers have begun to dig deeper and have found that their

business partners take legal action onto them for the same reasons. Business partners have stated

that the McBroom family completely cut off all contact with them and take over the business as

if it were their own and delete all the negative comments regarding issues with their products so

that the audience could be left unaware of the issues and potentially be a victim as well. The

McBroom’s are currently in several legal battles and have just recently been foreclosed on their

$10 million home which they state was never meant to be their home and only used for videos.

Many fans have dissected these statements and have made it clear they are in more trouble than

they portrait in their videos which see no effects from all their personal and legal issues.

The art of exploitation is both universal and agile as the risk of being exposed is always

at an all-time high. One thing these sorts of people who use this method to fund their lavish

lifestyles can count on is that there will always be someone who will look past all this

demonstrating that denial is a powerful state of mind. As of now, the Quintanilla’s, Jesse

Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, and The Ace Family are prospering with profits and support

regardless of their legal and personal battles. It is frightening to think that people can be so easily

taken advantage of and that there are so many out there willing to do that to others especially

after their followings have demonstrated so much of their faith in them. Unfortunately, this is a

deeper issue than simply donating money or purchasing a product to show their support,

however, the argument can be made that people do this to feed a sense of desire or the need to

feel needed. It is an issue that has no end in sight with the only thing left to do is hope people

will learn that sometimes things that make you feel whole are the same reason they feel they’re

not.
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Sources

Brice-Saddler, Michael. “A Wealthy Televangelist Explains His Fleet of Private Jets: 'It's a
Biblical Thing'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 June 2019,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/06/04/wealthy-televangelist-explains-his-
fleet-private-jets-its-biblical-thing/.

Freeman, Richard. “Jesse Duplantis Bio: Net Worth, Jet, Ministries, Siblings, Wife Cathy,
Salary.” Affair Post, 11 Sept. 2021, https://affairpost.com/jesse-duplantis-bio-net-worth-
jet-ministries-siblings-wife-cathy-salary/.

Grace, Asia. “Selena's Husband Felt Excluded from Netflix 'Selena' Series.” New York Post,
New York Post, 17 Dec. 2020, https://nypost.com/2020/12/17/selena-husband-chris-perez-
talks-love-25-years-after-death/.

Press-Reynolds, Kieran. “The Ace Family's Year from Hell: Before Foreclosure, They Faced
Legal and Financial Chaos.” Insider, Insider, 22 Oct. 2021, https://www.insider.com/the-
ace-family-austin-mcbroom-catherine-house-mansion-legal-financial-2021-10.

Rao, Karishma. “The Ace Family New House Tour Leaves Fans in Awe after Foreclosure
Drama.” Sports News, Sportskeeda, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-
culture/the-ace-family-new-house-tour-leaves-fans-awe-foreclosure-drama.

Villafañe, Veronica. “Chris Perez Loses Appeal to Dismiss Lawsuit by Selena's Father; on the
Hook to Pay All Legal Fees.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 24 Dec. 2020,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/veronicavillafane/2018/12/01/chris-perez-loses-appeal-to-
dismiss-lawsuit-by-selenas-father-on-the-hook-to-pay-all-legal-fees/?sh=40f7780b7380.
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Reflection

Throughout the semester I found myself more involved in the research aspect of

my writing as the little details can make the biggest difference. I also addressed every topic I

chose or that was given to me this semester with a deeper meaning to inform people about things

they may not be thinking about as commonly as they should. Of course, not everyone is the

same, but I feel the curiosity for certain topics is there especially when it involves subjects that

people have not given a second glance at. This essay took a large amount of research as there are

many sources to choose from and no two are the same which makes it important to look at more

than one so that the correct information is presented. Because some of the subjects in my topic

are incredibly famous and/or are icons to some, the information that is presented is almost

always made so that the image of them is not distorted in any way. After all, image is everything

to people in the public eye, and considering how important it is when it comes to profits, a lot of

journalists and writers must tread lightly as to not bring awareness from the wrong people.

I would say that this class thought me about the freedom to write without the limitations

that are set in place. Because of this, the fear of offending the wrong crowd was non-existent and

the topics I chose were those that have had struct curiosity in me for some time. I hope to

incorporate these ideas in the future since being contained within the boundaries of other

people’s ideas is no fun and makes for a boring essay or report. It is not the job of the writer to

be biased but to inform based on factual evidence that cannot be disputed as in the words of Ben

Shapiro, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” I am thrilled that I was able to freely express

myself and let my mind wander to areas that may have been criticized by others and can only

hope my peers received the same feelings throughout this essay as the art of money is one that

received major attention but has zero changes.