Does money make the world go around? No, not really — but it does tend to make people look at you in a different light. When you have money, it feels like everything is looking up. However, when you lose the money — things can get pretty crazy.
When you’re a celebrity, your money problems are magnified. There have been some pretty amazing cash grabs by celebrities…and then when it all falls down, celebrities often have no way of getting out of the ginormous hole they’ve dug for themselves.
Like most of our celebrity posts, we expect to hear some fuss over picking on these poor celebrities — no pun intended. However, when you look at the causes of their downfall and come up with a common theme, it’s hard not to be amused at least part of the time. That common theme, if you couldn’t guess already, is overspending. Celebrities have access to so much influence and power. After all, when you’re famous it’s not like you’re going to have to fight hard to get a credit card. If people know that you’re making money, they’re going to be more than happy to give you credit. It’s just a matter of thinking about it from the right perspective and handling your money properly.
Now, there are plenty of stars that can live comfortably for the rest of their lives on the money that they’ve derived from royalties and appearances. However, these celebrities just aren’t making that type of money anymore.
1. Gary Coleman
Probably the most tragic of this list is Gary Coleman, who had it all as a child TV star. He was the highest paid cast member of Diff’rent Strokes, but you wouldn’t know it from his lifestyle. In 1999, the former child star had close to 100,000 in personal debts. He had to go to work as a security guard — a time during which he punched a woman.
As some of you know, Gary Coleman passed away recently, and there was a massive battle over his estate. It’s a hard thing to stand when you really want to see your former child favorites really shine as adults. Unfortunately, Coleman was plagued by money troubles all the way up to his death.
2. Michael Jackson
Yes, Michael Jackson is dead now — and that’s tragic in of itself. However, when the King of Pop was alive, he was one big spender. He spent money on all types of things — from detailed fantasy empires all the way up to wardrobe and lavish gifts. There was a time where he bought Elizabeth Taylor a $637,000 necklace. He even owned 75 cars!
This type of lifestyle can’t last forever, even when you’re the King of Pop. He had to shift things around quickly, selling off many of his assets and entering into deals that would essentially push those debts away. It wasn’t easy — but he managed to do it and still come out ahead. He passed away in 2009 with a net worth of 230 million dollars, and his estate is still producing money to this day.
3. Courtney Love
You probably remember Courtney Love more for whom she was married to rather than anything she’s done on her own. She is the widow of Kurt Cobain, who was the lead singer of Nirvana. He committed suicide, leaving Courtney in a world of trouble. She’s been struggling to build her life over again, but money troubles seem to follow her wherever she goes. She ended up losing several homes and has almost half a million dollars in credit card debt. She still receives money from Kurt Cobain’s estate, but it’s still not enough to maintain her lifestyle. Drug use is suspected, and Love has made some attempts to attend rehab — but nothing seems to be succeeding. A real shame.
4. Pamela Anderson
Remember Pamela Anderson? Hello – Baywatch, V.I.P and some other trainwrecks that we’re still trying to forget. Like Kim Kardashian, Pamela has even had her own little sex tape drama. But that’s not what is attracting attention anymore. Her debts are well known — including the numerous liens against her house in Malibu because she can’t pay the construction companies their money. One construction company might be understandable — but five of them? That’s a lot of materials and labor that need to be paid for!
It’s also reported that Ms. Anderson still owes a quarter of a million dollars in back taxes to California. Man, you would think that California’s state taxes wouldn’t devour celebrities so much, but it really seems to be a killer!
5. Nicholas Cage
When it come sot a big movie star like Nicholas Cage, you would think that he would have money for the rest of his life. Still, that overspending bug is stronger than some people can fight, and Mr. Cage is no exception to this point at all. The problem stems yet again from back taxes — you would think Mr. Cage would be able to afford a competent accountant. Maybe Hollywood stars are independent contractors that aren’t aware of how to do their taxes? Nope, that can’t be it. Either way, he’s really having a hard time and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better anytime soon.
He’s trying to sell two properties to go ahead and pay down the debt fast, but you never know what’s going to really happen. Maybe he’ll have to move into a smaller house eventually? Who knows?
These celebrities could avoid a lot of problems if they actually had a financial adviser to turn to that wasn’t glazed over by fame and fortune. Having the right expertise on your side can really help you get through some tough financial things. However, only the person spending the money can convince themselves not to spend that money is the celebrity themselves.
Is it the fans fault? Some argue that if we didn’t expect celebrities to have ritzy lifestyles, they would spend less money. However, we don’t buy that. What do you think?