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These Celebrities Filed for Bankruptcy But Why?

For us non-celebrity types it can seem like such a great lifestyle. All the fame and wealth that goes along with the celebrity status can’t be all that bad. For some people on this list though it seems the celebrity status can go to their heads a bit too much and their spending gets out of control. Others have had failed careers and simply bad decisions that have led to their bankruptcies. Who do you find the most shocking one on the list?

Mike Tyson

Celebrity bankruptcy - Mike Tyson
Courtesy of ocnnreport.com

Mike Tyson literally earned millions during his fighting career, and when he retired should never have needed to work another day of his life. That is, if he had been sensible with his fortunuate. Unfortunatlely for the boxer he has expensive taste and his lifestyle of buying mansions, jewellry and cars left him filing for banruptcy in 2003.

Donald Trump

Celebrity bankruptcy - Donald Trump
Courtesy of thebraiser.com

High profile American businessman Donald Trump has actually filed for bankruptcy 4 times! All 4 have been corporate bankruptcies, not personal ones, which should sound alarm bells for his business sense.

Larry King

Celebrity bankruptcy - Larry King
Courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Larry King may be known as hugely successful now, with his fortune being in the region of around $150 million but he wasn’t always so successful. When he was working as a Miami radio anouncer he was making very little money. Around the same time he was accussed of grand larceny for allegedly stealing from a business partner and although the charges were dropped, he still lost his radio jobs. By 1978 he had declared himself bankrupt with debts of approximately $350,000. Ironically it was the same year that he started his extremely successful talk show career with Larry King Live.

Christopher Biggins

Celebrity bankruptcy - Christopher Biggins
Courtesy of Telegraph

Although Biggins is known as a fun loving chap, things haven’t always been so enjoyable. He voluntarily declared himself bankrupt when he stopped being offered work but carried on spending in the same way as he had previously been able to afford.

Oscar Wilde

Celebrity bankruptcy - Oscar Wilde
Courtesy of denverlibrary.org

After attempting to sue the Marquess of Queensbury for libel, Wilde was forced to declare himself bankrupt. The law suit arose because Queensbury accused Wilde of sodomy. Queensbury was acquitted, which left Wilde to pay all of the expenses incurred. On declaring himself bankrupt he sold most of his possessions, including the production rights to The Importance of Being Ernest and Lady Windermere’s Fan.

Cyndi Lauper

Celebrity bankruptcy - Cyndi Lauper
Courtesy of Telegraph

Before Cyndi Lauper became the girl that justs wants to have fun, she had a failed music career with a band called Blue Angel. This led to her filing for bankruptcy and singing in a Japenese restaurant dressed as a geisha. Fortuntely her manager managed to ger a record deal as a solo artist and the Cyndi Lauper we know today was born.

MC Hammer

Celebrity bankruptcy - MC Hammer
Photo by Jan Persson/Redferns

Unfortunately ‘Hammer Time’ came to an end in 1996 when MC Hammer was required to file for bankruptcy with $13 million of debts. In a similar style to Mike Tyson, MC Hammer enjoyed the lifestyle of buying expensive things, but unfortunately his album sales decreased and his earnings couldn’t keep up with his spending.

Abraham Lincoln

Celebrity bankruptcy - Abraham Lincoln
Courtesy of Whitehouse.gov

The 16th President of the US filed for bankruptcy after a business venture failed. He had bought a general store but unfortuately was not a very good shopkeeper. He did sell his share in the business but when his business partner died, Lincoln became liable for back payments. Although there were no actual bankruptcy laws in place back then, Lincoln was required to carry on paying off the debt until the 1840s, even after creditors had taken his only remaining assets of a horse and surveying equipment.

Shane Filan

Celebrity bankruptcy - Shane Filan
Courtesy of Express.co.uk

It’s crazy to think a member of such a succesful boyband (Westlife in case you don’t know!) could go bankrupt. His bankruptcy was declared just days before the band took to the stage to play their farewell show, which was pretty bad timing. Rather than living beyond his means, Filan’s bankruptcy came as a result of a failed property investment.

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