Whenever we think of famous Hollywood celebrities, we imagine living them a life full of luxury and financial ease but despite earning millions, many A-listers have to deal with money woes just like the rest of us.
Of course, their debt is in the multi-millions but is it debt nonetheless! Find out which of your favourite celebrities has lost their wealth due to poor money management and hey, maybe you can even learn a thing or two on what not to do!
Nicolas Cage
After having such a full filmography, it is quite a surprise that National Treasure star Nicolas Cage is the first name on this list. But it wasn’t his lack of work that ended him up here, it was his over-the-top spending on things such as exotic animals, a Gulfstream jet, and his private island and of course, the $14 million in back taxes he owed to the IRS.
On top of that, in 2009 he was faced with a lawsuit of $13 million by his ex-wife and then was sued by a real estate company for failing to pay back millions in loans that same year! Yikes! Cage has also been hit with issues with his public image with many perceiving him to be a has-been.
Lisa Marie Presley
When you are the child of icon Elvis Presley, you would think you would be financially set for the rest of your life, and at one point that was true for Lisa but adulthood had other plans. Her perfect image was finally broken when in February 2018, divorce documents, revealed she had a debt of $16.7 million!
How do you even get in so much debt? Well, it was a result of unpaid credit card payments and a defaulted mortgage. What followed the divorce was a very public and messy legal feud with her financial manager whom she is now suing for $100 million.
Tyga
Rapper Tyga – aka the man famous for being Kylie Jenner’s ex-boyfriend has again landed himself in both legal and financial trouble. It all became public knowledge when in 2012, the rapper found himself in the middle of a lawsuit with three women who sued him for failing to leave out inappropriate images of them from his music video.
This resulted in a long and financially draining legal battle, after which headlines revealed that Tyga owed $185,000 to a LA jeweller for an unpaid watch which he had borrowed and never returned. Then from 2015 to 2016, Tyga’s situation got worst when he failed to pay rent to various landlords while also causing damage to their property. By 2016, Tyga’s Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maybach were all repossessed. No new update has been given, which indicate if the rapper’s financial situation has improved.
Aaron Carter
The teen heartthrob for so many young girls in the 90s is having quite a hard time being an adult. During the height of his popularity with singles like “I Want Candy” and “How I Beat Shaq.”, Aaron Carter seemed to be unstoppable.
But much like his older brother, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys he too ended up failing to pay his taxes while getting himself into debt. This coupled with his steady decline in fame, makes Carter’s prospect of ever recovering from this situation unlikely. He did appear on Dancing With The Stars but received only lukewarm feedback.
Rupert Grint
It is a known fact that the stars of The Harry Potter franchise are well well-compensated for their work in the movie. At one point Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint were the richest teenagers in the world and while Radcliffe and Watson’s have maintained a steady career after the Potter films ended, Grint has struggled to land on his feet.
In 2016, Rupert was forced to pay over $1 million to the IRS after taking some poor accounting advice even though he attempted to appeal the order several times, he was denied. This does seem to be the only blimp in his financial records though, so it seems like the actor has learned his lesson.
Chris Tucker
After starring in a slew of blockbuster films of the 2000s such as The Fifth Element, Friday, and his most famous – the Rush Hour trilogy alongside Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker was well-established as a Hollywood A-lister and at one point, the comedian was even named the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.
After the Rush Hour movies, the actor hasn’t done any new movies in quite a while and only made headlines in 2014, when he was forced to be $14 million worth of back taxes or risk going to jail!
Bow Wow
Shad Gregory Moss aka Lil’ Bow Wow was everywhere in the 2000s and seemingly disappeared from popular culture overnight and with his popularity fading so did his income.
In 2012, Bow Wow was ordered to give his daughter’s mother $3,000 each month as alimony based on his previous earnings but he claimed to only have $1,500 in his name at the time! But this was a rather common issue and what really ruined the rapper’s image was when in 2017, he posted an Instagram picture that boasted a private jet but in reality, a fan spotted him flying coach in a commercial flight exposing his lie.
Drake Bell
Child stars are infamous for not being able to sustain their earnings throughout adulthood and Drake Bell is no different. The star of the show Drake and Josh decided to focus on a music career after the show ended and well, to no ones surprise it didn’t pan out.
Drake Bell
By the year 2014, he couldn’t keep up with the payments on a house he had bought in 2007, and it was forced into foreclosure. A year after, he was arrested for driving under the influence and was released on a $20,000 bond.
Courtney Love
The famous singer and actress Courtney Love has been around since the 1980s and while not as popular as before, she still has a solid fan-following but that hasn’t stopped her from dealing with some very major money issues.
It all started in 2012 or at least was made public when she made several payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the IRS to save herself from jail time. The legal battle actually cost her another $27 million. She also is struggling with substance abuse, having been hospitalized and considered a danger to herself many times.
Toni Braxton
Singers would do anything to win a Grammy, which is a sure way of knowing that your career has reached a major milestone and in turn your income but that’s wasn’t the case for Toni Braxton. The singer was reportedly only given $2,000 in royalties from an album which millions of records.
Despite publically claiming that she was deceived from her well-earned cash but nothing could be resolved and in 2010 and 2013, the singer had to declare insolvency. She later starred on a reality show with her sisters where she admitted that she was living life on a very tight budget.
Kim Basinger
The Oscar-winning actress started her career in 1976 and has worked on many several successful movies, in which she was hailed as a sex symbol. While Kim has kept a low-profile in recent years, focusing on family life she still managed to get into some money troubles.
It all started when earlier in her career she bought a town in Georgia to try to turn it into a tourism hub for $20 million. However, that investment didn’t turn out as lucrative as she had hoped with the price going down to $1 million, forcing Kim to file bankruptcy.
Brendan Fraser
The once Hollywood heartthrob, Brendan Fraser appeared on every action movie poster at one point but nowadays, the actor only makes headlines for his many bad financial decisions. It all started when he and his wife got a divorce in 2007 which revealed the extent of his problems.
Fraser insisted that he wasn’t able to pay the multi-million dollar yearly spousal payments requested by his wife and in fact could “only” spare $900,000. The divorce and the money problems were followed by the death of his mother, pushing him into a deep depression and further damaging his image.
Mike Tyson
While Mike Tyson is nowhere close to being a pauper, with a current net worth of $3 million but considered that he once had a $400 fortune, it is quite a step-down. Tyson’s money troubles are well-reported in the media, including the extra event purchases which caused them.
He spent his money on golden toilets, extravagant parties, pet tigers, and expensive divorce. Not to forget, he owed the IRS, a couple of mil in taxes and to save himself from jail time had to spend even more money on legal counsel.
Pamela Anderson
She was once the face of the rich, famous, and fabulous Hollywood but currently is going through a difficult transition, all because she didn’t pay taxes. It all started after she was caught owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and things only got worse after that.
Rather than pay off what she owed and readjust her lifestyle, Anderson continued to spend huge amounts of money on luxury goods and mansions. Things got so bad that she had to ask her ex to pay off some of her debts!
Abby Lee Miller
The most infamous dance teacher in the world, the Dance Moms star is recognized for her highly publicized legal issues when she was caught hiding $775,000 worth of earnings as she was trying to file for bankruptcy.
For which, the reality star served a jail sentence! She wasn’t able to complete her sentence and was transferred to a hospital after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Thankfully though, she is cancer-free now and is working to make a comeback, appearing in Dance Moms season 8.
LeAnn Rimes
She was once the sweetheart of the music industry, living the life of pure luxury and opulence but years of bad money decisions started to thaw her multi-million dollar empire, despite her having won three Grammys and selling over 37 million records worldwide.
LeAnn credits her inability to manage her money since she grew up underprivileged. In 2000, she also sued her father for mishandling her net worth claiming that he took 7 million dollars from her without her consent.
Jon and Kate Gosselin
Jon and Kate Plus 8 walked so Keeping Up With The Kardashians could run! The couple was the talk of the 2000s, becoming one of the most successful reality T.V show act, especially when news got out that Jon allegedly cheated on his wife with their nanny.
While their fame only increased with the scandal, it did cause them to lose the $75,000 per episode paycheck they were released since their reality t.v show was cancelled and a bitter divorce battle started.
Willie Nelson
Fans of country music will instantly recognize the name Willie Nelson, the singer who has been making music since 1956 and is still working. You would think such a long and successful career would have guaranteed his wealth and status but here he is on our list!
He was actually in trouble with the IRS in which he was forced to pay a $16.7 million tax bill! Rather than wallow in his situation, the singer made the most of it and made an album named ‘The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?’
Cyndi Lauper
The face of 1980s grunge, Cyndi Lauper created hits such as ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun.’ but it looks like the singer had too much fun and was forced to declare bankruptcy after her first band broke up.
How bad was it? The successful and famous singer found herself waiting tables and performing in bars, just to try and earn a living and pay off her debts! Thankfully, now she has better control over her money, releasing an album in 2016.
Janice Dickinson
Most of you probably recognize Janice from her time as an America’s Next Top Model judge, where was she known to be rather snobby and strict with the contestants and since she was fired from the show, things just got worst for the once supermodel.
Janice Dickinson
Janice somewhat became addicted to plastic surgery, accumulating over $1 million in debt – most of which were unpaid cosmetic surgery bills. This forced her to file for bankruptcy and while she has tried to get back her career several times, unfortunately, all her projects have fallen through.