Originally published in The Spinoff. Image by Archi Banal.

They have Culture Kings merch, they throw parties in Dubai, and they pissed off T-Pain. For IRL, Josie Adams talks to the guys behind Trillionaire Thugs about what on earth they’re up to.

Futurists believe the world will soon have its first trillionaire. If the man known as Fortafy has his way, it could be him. Fortafy, real name Sam Ratumaitavuki, is a New Zealand-born rapper, mobile game entrepreneur, and former bodybuilding champ. He’s also one of Australasia’s biggest crypto influencers.

The latest project in Ratumaitavuki’s extensive portfolio is an NFT hustle called Trillionaire Thugs. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s because he doesn’t need you to. More than 4,000 people currently own a Trillionaire Thug NFT. You can buy a Trillionaire Thugs shirt from Culture Kings for $54.90. You can listen to half a dozen songs about Trillionaire Thugs. There are 140,000 people in the Trillionaire Thugs Discord server. They had launch parties in Dubai and Miami. 

Trillionaire Thugs is a collection of 7,777 thug-themed NFTs. Some are gold, some are samurais, some are vaping. The design is, to be blunt, mid. So who’s buying them, and why does this project seem so unstoppable?

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