These Once-Famous Stars Made Millions… And Blew It All in a Jiffy

If we made half the amount of money these celebrities make, we’d probably never have to work another day in our lives — isn’t that what we’re always telling ourselves?

What we often forget is that money has the tendency to get to your head and make you do stupid, unreasonable things. This is exactly what happened with some of these celebrities we adore, who got played by their fat bank accounts and made decisions that they’ll probably regret for the rest of their lives.

Stars who have appeared on multiple Forbes lists have declared bankruptcy, leaving us to wonder where their millions disappeared. Once such celebrity is Mr. Unfortunate himself, Nicolas Cage who went from millionaire to broke within a few short years.

According to Forbes, 2009 was a pretty good year for Cage with the Academy Award winner making $40 million from acting projects. At the time, he was among Hollywood’s heavyweights which helped him amass a fortune of $150 million, which he, unfortunately, blew through.

Spend it Like You Earned It, But Wisely

The more the big chums trickled in, the more ways Cage found to spend his money. According to the actor’s manager, he spent at least $33 million on vintage cars, yachts, and over 10 palatial residences around the globe.

He also spent millions on rare pieces of art, in addition to acquiring lots of high-end jewelry pieces. In 2009, the IRS was on his back with a legal tax lien of $6.2 million. This prompted Cage to sue his former manager, and we all know the expenses that go into high profile legal battles.

These cases have been settled, but Cage isn’t financially secure yet. Word on the street is that he is still offloading some of his properties, including an island he owns in the Bahamas.

Another celebrity who knows what it means to go from grace to grass is Annie Leibovitz. The photographer took a $24 million loan in 2015 with her photo collection as collateral. Unfortunately, she didn’t spend this money wisely.

She made poor financial decisions, mismanaged her business, and extravagantly renovated her home. And with the unpredictability of life, she lost, both, her partner and her parental right around the time she welcomed twins via surrogate. This aggravated her financial situation and pushed her towards bankrupcy.

Luckily for her, she has reached an agreement with her creditors and her photo collection is now safe. To try and make money to fully repay them, she has listed her NYC property up for $33 million.

Medical Bills Understandable, But Debt?

For Toni Braxton, it hasn’t been entirely her doing that has plunged the musician into debt, although she has to shoulder some of the blame. Medical bills have largely been the dent in her finances, and we could hardly blame her for that.

What we can fault her for, however, are the debts she owes several companies such as Tifanny and AT&T to the tune of $50 million. She has also evaded taxes severally, and the IRS is finally catching up to her. Thus far, the 45-year-old has filed for bankruptcy twice.

You think that athletes are safe? Think again. It is said that they go broke within the first decade of retirement. Jose Canseco made over $40 million as a professional baseball player.

However, 2 divorces blew through $7 million, and his poor financial moves led to the foreclosure of his $2.5 million home in 2008. In 2012, the former MLB star filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying a $785,344 fine.