While they managed to amass a huge fortune during their heyday, these popular musicians, actors and TV personalities lost a lot of money due to bad spending habits or other personal issues.
- Dec 11, 2022
AceShowbiz - Most people work really hard for fame and fortune, and celebrities are no exception. In some cases, they even have to go through a lot to make their dreams come through. But even after overcoming the hurdles, nobody can guarantee the future.
Poor judgment or bad behavior can easily ruin someone's life and in these celebrities' cases, cost a lot of their fortune. Having not been able to come out of this dire circumstances, some of these stars were not shy to admit that they went broke or even file for bankruptcy.
1. R. Kelly
R. Kelly is one of rags-to-riches stories among celebrities. After gaining recognition in 1993, he released a number of hits, including "Bump N' Grind", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Your Body's Callin' " and "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time". He received 24 Grammy nominations, winning three of them. At his peak, the R&B singer's net worth was as high as $100 million.
However, his life dwindled after dozens of abuse lawsuits and a costly divorce. He reportedly paid tens of millions of dollars in settlements with victims and lost a large portion of his net worth after divorcing Andrea Lee. He also faced tax problems with the IRS. His horrific saga concluded with a 30-year prison sentence following conviction on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. As his career came to a halt, his net worth now reportedly sits at -$2 million.
2. Tori Spelling
While people think that Tori Spelling was lucky to be born in a healthy family, she didn't get to enjoy the privilege for the rest of her life. When her producer father Aaron Spelling died in 2006, she anticipated a sizable inheritance from her father's $500 million estate. However, she and her brother Randy Spelling each only inherited $800,000, with the majority of their father's estate going to his wife Candy Spelling.
Tori, who rose to fame with her role on "Beverly Hills, 90210", admitted in her book "Spelling It Like It Is" that she had financial troubles, due to the cancellation of her reality series, poor real estate decisions and a difficult fourth pregnancy. It didn't help that she had a strained relationship with her mother, who reportedly refused to help her. As of January of this year, she reportedly still owed $38,378.58 to American Express, which has made multiple attempts to collect the sum.
3. Erika Jayne
Erika Jayne never reached that level of fame to make a vast fortune, but she got to enjoy a lavish lifestyle after marrying famed attorney Thomas Girardi in 2010. Her taste of luxury and branded items was put on display on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills", which she has starred on since the sixth season in 2015.
But the singer was forced to drastically scale back her spending after she announced her divorce from Thomas in the wake of a lawsuit for alleged embezzlement against the couple. In a 2021 episode of the reality show, she admitted to her co-star Kyle Richards that she didn't have a penny to her name. "I'm out here rebuilding my life but, girl, I have zero dollars," so she claimed. "And by the time those trustees are done, there'll be nothing. So, I walk out of this with nothing."
4. Aaron Carter
Rising to fame as a teen pop star in the late 1990s, Aaron Carter was able to start early in making money. After releasing his self-titled debut album in 1997 at age nine, he sold a million copies worldwide, with more hits like "I Want Candy", "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" and "That's How I Beat Shaq" coming in the following years. In a 2016 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he claimed that he had a net worth of $200 million during his prime.
However, like many other former child stars, his popularity gradually declined and his initial worth also went down. The younger brother of Nick Carter started having financial troubles as early as age 18, owing $3.5 million in tax liens. In 2013, he filed for bankruptcy and placed his assets at $8,232.16 while his total financial liabilities totaled more than $2.2 million. While he managed to come out of the worst, he only left behind $550,000 at the time of his death on November 5.
5. Armie Hammer
Armie Hammer is the great-grandson of oil tycoon Armand Hammer, but he made his name in the showbiz as an actor. He gained wider recognition for his portrayal of the twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Network" and earned Golden Globe nomination for his role in "Call Me by Your Name".
His career suddenly came to a screeching halt following abuse allegations by his exes in 2021. While he was never officially charged, the scandal cost him his roles in a number of projects which he had already locked beforehand. Since then, the 36-year-old has not been able to secure new acting jobs. There were even reports that he had to sell timeshares in the Cayman Islands, before he moved to Los Angeles earlier this year and sought refuge in one of the houses owned by Robert Downey Jr., who allegedly also provides him with financial assistance until he gets back on his feet.
6. Pamela Anderson
Starting off from humble beginnings, Pamela Anderson skyrocketed to fame after being selected as the February 1990 Playmate of the Month for Playboy and starring on the Baywatch TV series. She reportedly made roughly $6.6 million per season, which put her earnings at over $30 million after five seasons.
However, at one point she went flat out broke after suffering a series of financial struggles, accruing millions in property debts and unpaid taxes. Her financial situation became so dire that the actress ended up selling her home and moving to a trailer park, where she lived for several years. She was finally able to move back to her home country of Canada, but reportedly still had some unpaid debts. In 2020, after their 12-day marriage, Hollywood producer Jon Peters claimed that he paid some of her debts.
7. DMX
While DMX left a huge legacy in terms of music, there wasn't much left to his family when he died. The father of 17's overall net worth, including extensive recording and publishing royalties, valued at an estimated $17.7 million, but his estate will have to pay off his massive debts, leaving his children with only a fraction to inherit.
Throughout his life, the rap icon experienced serious legal and financial problems, along with frequent issues with drug addiction. The "Party Up (Up in Here)" hitmaker's money issues largely stemmed from unpaid child support, but he also failed to pay income taxes which left him deeply in debt. He filed for bankruptcy three times and once claimed that he had absolutely no money and no assets except his house, which was in danger of being foreclosed on in 2016.
8. Amber Heard
Amber Heard had her fair share of success in her acting career through her supporting roles in films like "Pineapple Express", "Magic Mike XXL" and "The Danish Girl", to the point that she landed a role of Mera in the DCEU. She became a household name after marrying Johnny Depp in 2015, but little did she know that it was only the beginning of her downfall.
Since their divorce in 2017, the exes were embroiled a lengthy legal battle that cost her a lot in legal fees. Their dispute culminated in the defamation trial, which ended with a huge victory for Johnny, who was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Amber. The actress, meanwhile, was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages, which left her in $8.5 million debt to her ex-husband. Her lawyer, however, claimed that she can't pay the sum she owes Johnny as sources said she is "broke" due to mounting legal fees and lavish spending.
