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Bankrupt! 65 Famous People Who Lost It All: 18-33

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June 17th, 2008 by William

Tagged as: Popular Culture


18. Mick FleetwoodMick Fleetwood
Mick Fleetwood, an original member of the band Fleetwood Mac, filed for bankruptcy in 1984 and it was rumored that it was due to an addiction to cocaine. Fleetwood claims the real reason is because he purchased too much real estate and ran out of money.

19. Heidi FleissHeidi Fleiss
The “Hollywood Madam”, Heidi Fleiss, filed for bankruptcy in 1999 after being released from jail. She served 21 months for her connection with her prostitution ring, which included charges of pandering and tax evasion. But don’t worry, she’s doing great now. She runs a 24-hour Laundromat called Dirty Laundry in Pahrump, Nevada and is working on opening a legal brothel for women.

20. Zsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor had to file for bankruptcy after a catfight ended in a libel suit against her. Supposedly, it began when actress Elke Sommer said that Gabor had a big butt and Gabor responded by telling the press that Sommer’s career was washed up. The suit came because Gabor’s husband at the time said that Sommer had said, “All German men are pigs.” Who knew that courts listened to ridiculous cases like this but the joke was on Gabor because she had to file for bankruptcy.

21. Leif GarrettLeif Garrett
Leif Garrett’s career dried up pretty much after he hit puberty and he was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2001. At the time, he said that his only steady source of income was the $1,000 per month allowance from his mother.

22. Marvin GayeMarvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye had to file for bankruptcy in 1976 after a court ruling promised the $600,000 in royalties from his next album to his ex-wife to make up for overdue alimony payments. The album was titled Here, My Dear and detailed the personal details of his rocky marriage. He moved to Europe in 1981 and lived out a tumultuous remaining three years until his father shot him to death in 1984.

23. Ulysses S. GrantUlysses s grant
Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, became a partner in a financial firm which went bankrupt. Dying from throat cancer, Grant wrote a memoir to pay off his debts.

24. Archie GriffinArchie Griffin
Archie Griffin is college football’s only two-time Heisman trophy winner and played for Ohio State University from 1972-1975. Unfortunately, he had to file for bankruptcy in 1981 after an investment in six athletic shoe stores failed and caused him to have debts of $519,568.

25. Corey HaimCorey Haim
Corey Haim was one of the “two Coreys” that climbed to heartthrob status after appearing in a number of films in the 1980s. In 1997, years of drug problems took their toll and caused Haim to file for bankruptcy. He listed his only assets as his 10-year-old BMW, $100 in cash and royalties and residuals valued at $7,500.

26. Dorothy HamillDorothy Hamill
Dorothy Hamill was the 1976 National, World and Olympic champion and moved on after that to the Ice Capades. She purchased the struggling company and tried to get it going again but she had to sell in 1995 and filed for bankruptcy herself in 1996.

27. MC HammerMC Hammer
MC Hammer was “too legit to quit” in the late 80’s and early 90’s but then headed to bankruptcy court in 1996 $13.7 million in debt. Hammer aka Stanley Burrell let his quick rise to fame encourage a new and lavish lifestyle like a $30 million mansion and a $500,000-a-month payroll. He is now a preacher, a television host and hopefully still wears the Hammer pants around the house.

28. Isaac HayesIsaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes is known by many as the voice of “Chef” on South Park and made a stink when he left the show because of how they chose to make fun of Scientology. (Apparently all the other topics and people the show made fun of were OK but they crossed the line with Scientology.) Hayes also wrote and performed music back in the 60’s and 70’s and had to file for bankruptcy in 1976. His record label went broke and since they owed over $6 million, so did he. He lost his house, most of his personal property and the rights to future royalties from all his music.

29. Milton Snavely HersheyMilton Snavely Hershey
Milton Snavely Hershey founded Hershey’s Foods Corporation in 1903 but didn’t find success immediately in life. Hershey dropped out of school after 4th grade, because his family moved around a lot, and got an apprenticeship as a printer. He wasn’t keen on the business and tried his hand at candy. His first four attempts failed and forced him to file for bankruptcy but his fifth resulted in a major corporation that’s doing pretty darn good to this day.

30. Perez HiltonPerez Hilton
Perez Hilton, not to be confused with heiress Paris Hilton, is an Internet blogger who loves to shake up the world of celeb gossip on his website PerezHilton.com. Hilton, real name Mario Lavandeira, ran up a world of debt while in college and dependent on credit cards. He was more than $50,000 in debt when he filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

31. Ronald IsleyRonald Isley
The lead singer of the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley, 66, declared bankruptcy in 1997 after the IRS seized his yacht, cars and other property. He was discharged four years later but didn’t file tax returns for five years. He is currently serving a 37-month sentence in Indiana for five counts of tax evasion and one count of failing to file a tax return.

32. LaToya JacksonLaToya Jackson
La Toya Jackson is supposedly the “crazy” member of the Jackson clan but I’m sure many would argue otherwise. She tried the whole singing thing in the form of a solo career but didn’t find much success and had to file for bankruptcy in 1995. She was on TV for the reality show Armed and Famous in 2007 and went through an emotional therapeutic attempt to relieve her of her phobia of cats.

33. Don JohnsonDon JOhnson
Don Johnson, of Miami Vice fame, filed for bankruptcy in 2004 to save his $20 million Pitkin County ranch in Colorado from being sold at auction. He was able to save his ranch and later paid off his debts including $930,000 to City National Bank and $7,345 to Aspen Valley Hospital.

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One Response to “Bankrupt! 65 Famous People Who Lost It All: 18-33”

  1. On November 19th 2008, jenny wrote:

    what did it cost joe hyams and elke sommer when they divorced? and what was the reason for their divorce?

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