Celebs who went from millionaire to bankruptcy

Lifestyles of the rich and the famous — it all sounds so glamorous, there in the Hollywood Hills. But things can still go wrong. That could be because fame just stops for some people. Of course, you have one-hit wonders, and if you have one gigantic hit in America, you're doing pretty well. But you have to handle that earned money responsibly. And that's where it mainly goes wrong: celebs who simply can't manage money. Well, fall and get back up; these celebs went bankrupt.

1. 50 Cent

Things were going quite well for him. Not just because of his musical hits, but Fifty was also investing well in things like Vitamin Water. At one point, he had 300 million in his bank account. But then in 2015, he filed for bankruptcy. What happened there? Nobody understood, because according to experts, he was still worth half a billion when he did that. Meanwhile, he was also posting all kinds of cool content with banknotes on social media (‘they're fake’, he later said about that). Anyway, in 2017 he was done with all debts after paying off 22 million.

2. Nicolas Cage

A Oscar winner bankrupt? How is that possible? He earned no less than 40 million dollars in 2009. But... he spent it all right away. Well, as a high earner, you obviously can't get by with just one house. Two or three clearly aren't enough either. And cars had to be present in large numbers at all those houses. Add to that that Mr. Cage didn't take tax payments seriously, and he found himself deep in trouble. The bill from 2007 cost him dearly, forcing him to sell almost all his possessions and accept every film role offered to him.

3. Floyd Mayweather

This is also strange, considering there is so much money in boxing. But just like Mr. Cage above, Floyd Mayweather didn't feel it was necessary to pay taxes. The IRS thought otherwise and showed up at his door. Asking if he wanted to pay over ten years of taxes. Oops. He had to cough up 22.2 million, which made him step back into the ring. All for the money.

4. Kim Basinger

This actress had a unique plan for what she wanted to do with her many dollars. She bought an entire town in the state of Georgia, with the idea of turning it into a tourist attraction. A film studio was built, and a film festival was also on the agenda. None of that happened, but the bills kept coming, and she had to sell a large part of ‘her’ town in 1993. To make matters worse, she backed out of doing the film Boxing Helena at the last minute, much to the displeasure of the film studio that took her to court. She lost and had to pay the film studio 8.1 million dollars. That turned out to be the last straw, and she filed for bankruptcy.

5. Toni Braxton

This singer managed to declare bankruptcy twice. Even though she had a monster hit with Unbreak My Heart, she claims to have signed the worst record deal ever and received only 2,000 dollars from all her sold CDs. Ouch. She sued her record label but lost, and then filed for bankruptcy (in 1998). Ten years later, in 2008, she suddenly wanted to stop her show in Las Vegas. She claimed it was due to health problems, but her insurance company refused to pay out a cent. Result: she had to cover all the costs herself. As a result, she filed for bankruptcy again in 2012.

6. Meat Loaf

Whuuut, how can you release a song like Paradise By The Dashboard Light and be in financial trouble? This is a guarantee that money will always keep coming in, right? Not so: he filed for bankruptcy in the late ’80s after countless lawsuits between him and songwriter Jim Steinman (who wrote all the songs on his album Bat Out Of Hell). He said that every time a lawsuit was settled, Steinman immediately filed a new one. The only way out was to file for bankruptcy.

7. Pamela Anderson

Things were actually going quite well for her: a fat bank account, a jet-set lifestyle, and she could easily afford all her cosmetic procedures. Party here, drink there... Until the IRS came knocking at her door, because yes: even if you're Pamela Anderson, you still have to pay taxes. She clearly didn't see that coming, and therefore got heavily into debt to pay it all off.

8. Courtney Love

Many Nirvana fans didn't exactly feel sorry for the Hole singer when she was in serious financial trouble. Her lifestyle, which cost a lot of money, and her drug use meant she had no money left. She then sold her house and all the rights to the Nirvana songs she owned. You understand: that brings in a nice sum.

9. Donald Trump

Another person for whom not many people feel sorry. This ex-POTUS also played it very cleverly when he realized that you don't necessarily have to declare personal bankruptcy if you can do it through your business. Because if you've smartly divided your money in business, there's not much to take, and you're personally unscathed. Isn't that lovely, that American legal system? Trump could declare bankruptcy four times and still own private jets, Trump Towers, and places like Mar-a-Lago.

10. Lindsay Lohan

You can earn as much as you want, but if you keep partying, drinking, and using drugs like Lindsay Lohan did, your money will just run out. Because really taking good roles falls by the wayside. Then you also get a reputation for being ‘difficult to work with’, and those roles won't come your way at all. Money ran out significantly, and Lindsay filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

11. Michael Jackson

The King of Pop having money problems? Not because he earned too little, mind you. But if you buy an area like Neverland and have a full amusement park built on it, the maintenance will cost you a tidy ten million dollars a year. And if you also go under the knife regularly because you want to change something about your appearance, it goes even faster. It was said to be so serious that his children received not a cent from him when he died; only debts.