We have always heard about celebrities who started from rags and went on to become millionaires. Their stories always inspire us and motivate us. However, there are also some celebrities who faced quite the opposite. Many cases have been present when celebrities lost all their money and have gone bankrupt.
Movie stars famous athletes world known singers, all have seen a sudden change in their faith, whether it be positive or negative. So here are some top celebrities that we have, who went from being one of the richest to losing all their money and being bankrupt. Let’s find out who managed to bounce back and who didn’t.
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1. Michael Jackson
We all know the king of Pop, Michael Jackson, who is no less than a legend. However, one thing that many people don’t about is that he was also among the celebrities who went bankrupt in their career. It has been reported that Michael Jackson was in an estimated debt of about $400 to $500 million. Jackson was found to take large amounts of loans from banks, which never got to be returned, after his death in 2009. However, his financial matters were later settled by his estates.
2. Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor and film producer. He was reportedly, one of the highest earning men in 2009. In the same year, Nicolas is said to have earned about $40 million, in one year alone. However, he is also famous for being one of the highest spenders. He is reported to have blown over his $150 million fortune in extravagant homes, cars, and artefacts. He also lost a lot of money when he faced some taxing issues an had to pay $6 million in 2007. As of 2017, his net worth had come down to $25 million.
3. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather was a former professional boxing champion. Currently, he is a boxing promoter and owns a team in the NASCAR cup series. However, Mayweather is known to have been in debt to the IRS for over a decade now. As per reports, the boxing champion has been in a failure to pay taxes for a long time now, and is at a debt of $22 million to the IRS. The boxer even came out of his retirement once to settle his finances, and is rumored to come put again.
4. Mike Tyson
We have another boxer here, and perhaps one of the best and the most famous. Also known with the nickname “heavy mike,” mike has been retired for almost 18 years now. However, even after reports of him earning a $400 million fortune, Mike was known to declare bankruptcy. Back in 2003, he owe money to a lot of people and organizations, including the IRS and British tax authorities. He also had to give away $9 million in a divorce settlement.
5. Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin is an actor, a producer, and a director. Despite his Hollywood career, Stephen Baldwin has been in a lot of tax related problems. In 2009, Baldwin filed for bankruptcy, as he owned a lot of money on taxes. He also owned money in a number of mortgages, even leading to his house being foreclosed in 2007. He was even arrested once for failing to pay taxes for three years in a row.
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6. 50 Cent
50 Cent, as he is mostly known by, is an American rapper, actor and a businessman. Originally named Curtis James Jackson, he is one of the most famous rappers and celebrities in general, in America. However, he had been reported in a huge amount of $32.5 million in debt, in 2015. Even after making a lot of money through his business empire, 50 Cent declared bankruptcy after being involved in lawsuits and unpaid child support payments.
7. MC Hammer
Continuing with another rapper, we have the American rapper MC Hammer. He was most famous for his hit “U Can’t Touch This.” He even reportedly received $30 million for this single. However, his unrestrained habit of spending took him into a lot of trouble and led to him being bankrupt. After buying a $1 million mansion, he went on to spend almost all his savings in making changes to the house. He even bought a stable, filling it with 19 horses. Combining this with a number of lawsuits, Hammer filed for bankruptcy in 1996 worth $13 million.
8. Kim Basinger
Actor Kim Basinger is not only known for her movies but has also come up in the news relating to her bankruptcy. Basinger apparently bought a town in Georgia known as Braselton, for which she paid about $20 million. Expectations of her turning this town into a theme park or a movie studio soon went down when she declared bankruptcy and had to resell the property. She was even sued by Carl Mazzocone once, for backing out of an oral contract for a movie.
9. Meat Loaf
Meat loaf was a hugely successful American singer in the late 70s, producing a lot of hit singles and albums. However, his luck didn’t stay for a longer time, as he filed for bankruptcy in 1983. Meat Loaf was buried with as many as 45 lawsuits thrown at him, worth $80 million. He declared that he had no money as he was not paid by CBS until much later in 1997. Hence, he had to declare his bankruptcy, as it was “the only way to stop them,” as Meat Loaf says.
10. Willie Nelson
Talking about his profession, Willie Nelson is known for being a very famous country singer. And as for his side profession, he is also known for his marijuana smoking deals. However, he was caught up in a lot of tax frauds and the IRS came looking for him, for a non-payment of $16.7 million. All of his properties and assets were sealed by the IRS as a result. However, Nelson is now done with all his debts and is a currently successful musician.
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