There’s nothing quite like America’s obsession with celebrities … unless, of course, you consider our obsession with celebrity failures.
After all, the shine of a rising star is always eclipsed by the blazing fire caused by a big bank account going up in smoke.
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Some high-profile bankruptcy news of late includes:
- A famous New York art gallery that has gone under, leaving the fate of a 500-year-old Botticelli painting up to the bankruptcy judge.
- College football coach John L. Smith has a 132-86 lifetime record, and just landed a gig in the SEC leading up the Arkansas program. Too bad off the field, bonehead real estate moves have driven the Razorbacks coach to the brink of bankruptcy.
- “Octomom” Nadya Suleman has been foreclosed on in her latest bout with financial insolvency.
But these recent headlines are nothing compared with some of the ugliest celebrity bankruptcy stories in history.
Elton John (Bankrupt in 2002)
Sir Elton was living high on the hog with a 37-acre estate in Windsor, among other properties in the U.K., America and France, and a fleet of 20 luxury cars to ferry him around.
Too bad he couldn’t afford it. The BBC reported that prior to bankruptcy, his credit card bills were rumored to top $400,000 every month and he spent a staggering $55 million in the span of 20 months!
He took legal action against a money manager … but c’mon, Elton.
In the court case it was revealed he spent $450,000 on flowers alone during the 20-month binge.
Vince and Linda McMahon (Bankrupt in 1976)
The brains behind World Wrestling Entertainment clearly didn’t have a head for finance in the beginning.
The couple was in the hole $1 million in debt as the wrestling empire started to blossom.
That included footing the bill for such crazy schemes as a failed Evel Knieval attempt to jump Snake River Canyon and a fight between Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestler/martial arts star Antonio Inoki.
Oh yeah, and they didn’t like the IRS too much — racking up $142,763 in unpaid income taxes over five straight years.
MC Hammer (Bankrupt in 1996)
Stanley Kirk Burrell, as the rap star was named at birth, is one of the best-known tales of celebrity excess.
After earnings a reported $33 million in the calendar year 1991 alone he was saddled with debts worth $14 million at the time he filed for bankruptcy.
Those debts include race horses, 17 cars, an airplane, a record label and a home on nearly 12 acres that was bought for $30 million – and offered for $6.8 million after the bankruptcy.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget the $500,000 he owed to Deion Sanders according to filings. MC Hammer spent as much as $500,000 a month on a crew as large as 200 people, according to reports.
Nice work if you can get it! But don’t fret, because in the intervening years Hammer has bounced back.
According to reports he is in the process of creating his own search engine, called WireDoo, which will compete with Google and Microsoft search engine Bing. I’m sure it will be a profitable business venture for him …
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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