Celebrities Filing Bankruptcy

We all tend to think that Hollywood is the ultimate place of glamour, stardom and wealth but all of the celebrities have not lived all their lives in luxury and wealth. The following celebrities are among the top ten celebrities that have filed for bankruptcies at least once in their lifetime:

MC Hammer has been one of the biggest names in the decade of 1990s and most of his songs remained top among the charts for weeks at an end. Unfortunately, for this singer of the nineties whose entourage was so huge at the time that it could probably beat the Queen of England for it, the heavy expenses came with consequences. MC Hammer was reported to have the habit of paying approximately 300 people an amount of $50,000 a month but he couldn’t keep it up so in 1996 he filed for bankruptcy in order to avoid having to pay the $13 million that he owed.

One of America’s most recognizable television stars, Burt Reynolds is probably best known for his role in movies like Smokey and the Bandit and The Longest Yard. His celebrity life which included a ranch in the state of Florida, a helicopter and mansions on both coasts finally had to come to an end. The divorce he got from his wife hit him pretty badly financially and in 1996, he filed for bankruptcy when he owed more than $10 million.

An interesting bankruptcy case happens to be Larry King who in the 1970s was in a pretty bad situation; charged with grand larceny, accused of stealing money from his business partner and accompanied with a scandal, King filed for bankruptcy. However, he eventually found success and wealth again after making some smart moves.

It is pretty hard to imagine that somebody like Donald Trump ever had to go through a bankruptcy in his life, but yes, it is true. Trump has made a lot of money through his real estate ventures and his casinos. However, in 1992, then again in 2004 and then again in 2009, his casinos filed for bankruptcy and through these, he did lost billions but as smart a man as Trump is, his other ventures kept him wealthy enough to keep his extravagant lifestyle.

Willie Nelson also had a problem of keeping a huge and well paid entourage; in fact, his drummer is reported to have been the world’s highest paid drummer for his job. In 1990, however, Nelson did not exactly file for bankruptcy but the government seized his bank accounts, his gold records and his ranch in Texas when he failed to pay an approximate sum of $16.7 million in taxes.

Although, these gentlemen top the list of celebrity bankruptcies, some other names include Don Johnson who owed $14.5 million in debts; Mike Tyson, the heavyweight champion who owed $13.3 million only to the IRS; Wayne Newton who filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and owed about $25million at that time; Kim Basinger whose entrepreneurial ventures turned bad and she had to file for bankruptcy in 1990 and last but not least, Cyndi Lauper, who filed for bankruptcy in 1980s but soon was back up on her feet again.

Richard Jacobs is a chief editor since early 2007, and he currently works for MyDUIAttorney. A website that helps you to find the right DUI lawyer, you can search for a Cincinnati DUI Lawyers or for New Jersey DUI Lawyer online, anytime!