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Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price. Photo via The New York Times video.

Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price, who gained worldwide fame and attention after boosting salaries of employees to a minimum of $70,000, now says he’s struggling to make ends meet.

In a video segment on The New York Times which accompanies an in-depth story on Price, the executive — oddly appearing in his garage seated on a bucket — says things are rough right now.

“I am working as hard as I’ve ever worked to try to make it work,” says Price. “I am renting out my house right now to try to make ends meet myself. I haven’t made this little amount of money since I was in my early 20s.” Price has an estimated net worth of $3 million.

The 31-year-old Price, who cut his salary and bonus of more than $1 million to $70,000 in April, is facing heavy legal costs after his brother and Gravity Payments co-founder, Lucas, sued him in King County Superior Court.

“Among other wrongdoing, he has improperly used his majority control of the company to pay himself excessive compensation and to deprive Lucas of the benefits of ownership in Gravity Payments,” the suit says.

Dan Price accepts the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the GeekWire Awards in 2013.
Dan Price accepts the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the GeekWire Awards in 2013.

In today’s lengthy piece in The New York Times — which includes comments from Price’s father, venture capitalist and minimum wage activist Nick Hanauer, customers and several current and former Gravity Payments employees —  Dan Price addresses the rift with his brother, as well as the fallout from making the decision to boost employees wages.

He says of his brother: “Being in business together was the worst thing for our relationship.” The lawsuit, while filed this month, has been in the works at least since March, a month before Price made his groundbreaking announcement in a moment captured by The New York Times.

The video — which accompanies the Times’ piece and is titled Love Letters to the Gravity Boss — shows Price reading from the hundreds of letters he received after making the wage announcement.

You can read the entire piece on Price here. It is well worth the time. Here’s a look at the video.

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