Years ago, you could find Jeff Badu roaming the streets of Chicago, participating in the city's gang culture. These days, Badu, who was born in Ghana, is gaining notoriety in a different way and is keen on sharing the secrets of his million-dollar empire with the public.

According to WGN 9, Badu moved to the United States from West Africa when he was eight years old. Shortly after, Badu joined a gang in Uptown. Instead of feeling protected, like what the clique advertised, he felt inundated with negativity.

"Between eight to 16, those were the toughest times of my life because I was surrounded by so much negativity," Badu told the news outlet. "I was literally trapped, I couldn't walk certain places."

Badu credits a trip back home and a conversation with his aunt as motivation for him to turn his life around.

"Your parents took you from Ghana to the U.S., your parents struggled so hard, went through the lottery system for you to come and mess it up,'" he remembers her telling him.

Those words proved to be life-changing for Badu, who returned to the United States and got serious about his faith and his studies, graduating from Uplift High School. He then received an undergraduate and graduate degree in accounting from the University of Illinois.

By this point, Badu was paving his own road in the financial industry. Then, tragedy struck. His childhood friend Adura Yaboroh died after being shot in the head five times while helping someone with a spare car tire at a gas station. Badu felt personally responsible for Yarboroh's death.

"I felt very responsible for that because I had turned my life around but I didn't go ahead and turn other people's lives around at that time," Badu confessed.

Badu launched his own accounting business and today, he reports his company Badu Enterprises caters to 1,500 clients across the country and five countries overseas.

"I first hit that million dollar point when I was 25," Badu told WGN 9.

In addition to owning car rental enterprises and real estate investment groups, Block Club Chicago reports Badu also hosts his own radio show called "Money Talks" where he openly champions financial independence. Chicago residents can listen from 7:00-8:00 p.m. every Monday via 98.3 WGHC FM.

Will be going over a segment tonight on what it means to be a millionaire (the true definition) and how to become a millionaire. Tune in to WGHC 98.3 FM (https://t.co/ouSojjuyDr) tonight from 7-8 CST!

— Jeff Badu (@JBadu32) June 3, 2019

A quick glance at Badu's personal website reveals he also provides resources for scholarships and writes blog posts on everything from property tax to money-making strategies.

Badu hopes to use his clout to service neighborhoods suffering from an absence of financial freedom and other benefits awarded to individuals in more developed communities.

"We need more financial empowerment," he told Block Club Chicago. "If my friends had seen a better way of doing things they would have."

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