Fame & Fortune: Jimmy Dean Broke many times, but never poor
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Bankrate: You were a famous singing star; why not go into record producing and talent management, like Quincy Jones?

Jimmy Dean: I don't think I'm good enough. Quincy Jones is very creative, I've met him. I don't think I'm as creative.

Bankrate: You had an opportunity to take 40 percent of all of Jim Henson's future earnings with the Muppets, but you turned it down.

Jimmy Dean: Well, that was when he came to our show. We started him in New York. I didn't feel I deserved his money then and I don't feel I deserve it now. I told my manager "I am not going to take that money, it would be sick."

Bankrate: Sara Lee recently dropped you as the face of Jimmy Dean. Who else can be Jimmy Dean but you?

Jimmy Dean: Well, I don't know. They talk about the age factor, saying I'm too old for the customer. A couple of really tactful executives from Sara Lee said to me, "You're not going to live forever, you know." They were preparing for me to die! Can you believe that?! I think Wilford Brimley does good work for what he does, though I don't know how they get him up on a horse. They're still using Colonel Sanders in ads and he's been dead for years.

Bankrate: Your sausage business was borne out of a cousin-in-law's failing hog business. Many famous people have been asked by relatives to invest in get-rich-quick schemes. How did you know your sausage business would succeed?

Jimmy Dean: I didn't know. I've always felt that diversification was the key in investing. It's not like the sausage business is my only investment. I'm in banking, real estate, lots of other things.

Bankrate: Who helps you manage your money?

Jimmy Dean: The major things, I take care of myself. The details and minor things, I have a man, Jack Bartlett in Dallas, who's been working with me for years and years and years.

Bankrate: Do you have any favorite charities?

Jimmy Dean: We do. Education is very important. We contributed a lot of time and money to our local high school in Varina, Va. But then we learned that high school is too late. Teachers told us the parents weren't getting involved. We used to give away a new Ford car every year to one of the high achievers. Now, we're in the process of getting involved with the local middle school. Of course, we'll have to scale it down to giving away a bicycle.

Bankrate: Do you feel successful?

Jimmy Dean: Success, my dear, is a state of mind. Growing up, my grandfather Taylor was the wealthiest, most successful person I knew -- and he probably didn't have $10,000 to his name. He was one of nine kids and had a wonderful relationship with the man upstairs. He had inner peace. I don't have peace, I'm always scared I'm going to lose it all. I regret selling to Sara Lee, but I knew we could grow faster with them than I could do on my own.