You’d be forgiven for thinking that, with all of those big money movies, record sales, royalty cheques and sponsorships, celebrities are a relatively safe bunch to lend a few quid to. After all, they can afford it, right? Well, they’re not usually renowned for astute money management. As this list from Debtsolver shows, celebrity spending and debt often go hand in hand.

1. The music business is notoriously fickle but two successful albums and a Grammy would be sure to lull you into a false sense of security. Sadly though, for Toni Braxton this success just couldn’t provide her with the lifestyle to which she aspired and in 1998 she filed for bankruptcy, owing $5million.
2. Staying with musical superstars, remember MC Hammer? Well, although his spending habits are now the stuff of legend, he was able to keep up with it for a while. All good things must come to an end though, the shelf life of Hammertime being one of them. He filed for bankruptcy in 1996, having spent about $20million.
3. Kim Bassinger bought Braselton, a town in Georgia (the US state, not the ex-Soviet country), for a reported $20million. She then signed up to do a film called Boxing Helena, decided against it and dropped out. The film’s producers took her to court for breach of contract. Kim lost and had to sell Braselton and file for bankruptcy.
4. Mike Tyson apparently earned $300million in his fighting career. However, he was bankrupted by $27million worth of debt; $13million of which was due to the US Government in unpaid taxes.
5. Burt Reynolds starred in almost 150 films. However, in spite of this extensive list of credits, Burt managed to build up about $10million worth of outstanding debt and only managed to hold on to his house through some expert legal wrangling and dedicated debt management.
6. Don Johnson’s days on Miami Vice made him one of the most famous small screen actors in the world. However, his life of excess lead him into serious debt problems that even cost him the iconic silver Ferrari Testarossa, a personal gift from Enzo Ferrari, that became such a signature of the programme. He managed to repay over $14million but I’d still think twice before lending him a tenner.
7. Marvin Gaye is about as big a legend as you get. Sadly though, succumbing to well documented personal problems, Marvin’s mounting tax debt lead to bankruptcy in 1979. He returned to form in 1982 with the release of “Sexual Healing” but sadly died in 1984.
8. Cyndi Lauper reminded us all that girls just want to have fun, but at what cost? Critical acclaim came early for Cyndi but this early success never really translated into record sales and in 1980, she filed for bankruptcy. Her career was luckily resurrected and her recovery from bankruptcy remains an inspiration to celebs everywhere.
9. Willie Nelson’s been around for a while. Sadly though, he’s almost as renowned for his massive unpaid tax bill as his inspirational activist anthems. Willie was apparently not great at keeping on top of his finances and was reportedly taken advantage of by his accountant, owing somewhere in the region of $17million in unpaid tax.
10. Meat Loaf hit the late 70’s music scene with a hugely successful album and looked set to be a major player for years to come.  Within a decade though, a pretty major debt beef had got the better of Meat and in 1986 he filed for bankruptcy, owing $1.6million.

Related posts:

1. Top 5 British Celebrities in Debt

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