Bible Money Matters

Christian personal finance

Menu
    • About
    • Archives
    • Contact
    • Close
  • Making Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Ways To Make Money: Maximizing, Creating And Increasing Your Income
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Make Money
        • Making Money With A Blog (e-Book)
        • 10 Places To Sell Or Trade Your Unused (Or Broken) Electronics
        • Ways To Make Extra Money Series: 20 More Income Generating Ideas From Our Readers
        • Making Side Income Can Help Blunt The Impact Of Becoming A One Income Family
        • Earn Cash Back With Discover it® Credit Card
      • Recent Articles – Making Money

        • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
        • 13 Of The Best Independent Contractor Jobs
        • 25 Of The Best Gig Economy Jobs
        • How To Make Money Blogging: Turn A Blog Into A Business
      • Categories

        • Making Money
        • Investing
        • Retirement
        • Jobs & Work LIfe
        • Money
        • Income
    • Close
  • Saving Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Easy Ways To Save Money Every Month
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Save Money
        • 10 Practical Ways To Save Money And Increase Your Net Worth
        • How To Save Money On Just About All Of Your Regular Monthly Bills
        • Ways To Watch TV Without Paying An Arm And A Leg For Cable TV
        • Save Money On Your Hospital Bill - Just By Asking
      • Recent Articles – Saving Money

        • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
        • Stairs App Review: Save And Invest To Earn 4-6% Interest
        • Honey Review: Save Money Automatically When You Shop Online
        • 9 Convincing Reasons Why You Need An Emergency Fund
      • Categories

        • Saving Money
        • Frugality
        • Planning
        • Finance
        • Saving For Retirement
        • Savings Accounts
    • Close
  • Banking
      • Best Rates For 2019

        • Best Credit Cards
        • Best Savings Accounts
        • Best Mortgage Rates
        • Best CD Rates
        • Best Brokerages
        • Free Credit Scores
      • Recent Reviews

        • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
        • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
        • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
        • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
      • Categories

        • Bank & Software Reviews
        • Investing
        • Credit
        • Banking
        • Mortgage
        • Insurance
        • Family Budget
    • Close
  • Recommended
  • Video
    • Close

Famous Musician Bankruptcies: From Millions To Broke

By Peter Anderson 4 Comments - The content of this website often contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you buy through those links (at no cost to you!). Learn more about how we make money. Last edited May 27, 2011.

Share29
Pin
Tweet14
Share3
46 Shares

I read an interesting piece over at Fox News this week talking, once again, about famous people and their inability to spend their money wisely.  This time the focus was specifically on musicians who had blown their fortunes.

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of these stars, and how they blew their millions.  (Remember, at any income, the only way to ensure that you’ll continue growing wealth is to spend less than you earn!  These folks obviously didn’t do that.)

Famous Musicians And Bankruptcy

  • MC Hammer:  MC Hammer was at the top of his game in the early 90’s.  He had a hit record, was on constant replay on MTV, and he was making millions.   The Hammer wasn’t very wise with his money, and spent lavishly (on parachute pants?).  Unfortunately bankruptcy didn’t realize that “you can’t touch this” performer, and Hammer filed for bankruptcy protection in 1996 after burning through $33 million.  He’s now attempting a comeback through a reality show tracking his new middle class lifestyle.
  • Willie Nelson: In 1990 the IRS caught up with Willie and he was put in a world of hurt for owing back taxes to the tune of 16.7 million dollars.  His fortune didn’t cover it all, so Willie released another record titled “The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories” and paid the rest of his bill.  By 1993 he was free of his IRS problems, and is now re-building his fortune.
  • Marvin Gaye: The Motown legend made millions through his beautiful music, but lost it all to a combination of divorce, problems with the IRS and a bad drug problem.  He declared bankruptcy in 1979, and ended up living in a van in Hawaii.  He was shot to death by his father in 1984.
  • Tom Petty:  Tom Petty’s 1979 bankruptcy was by some accounts a negotiating ploy against MCA records after they bought Petty’s indie record label.  The bankruptcy allowed him to negotiate a fresh deal with his new record label home.  His first album under the new deal  was Petty’s biggest album to date, and helped him to find his way out of “bankruptcy”.
  • Meat Loaf: Meat Loaf struck it big with his 1977 album “Bat Out Of Hell” from which he earned millions of dollars.  Unfortunately for him he had some shady management and they were stealing most of his money before he even saw it.  He found new representation, but they sued, had his assets frozen and he was forced into bankruptcy in 1981.  Hoping to dig his way out of debt he released a new album, which bombed.  He ended up going bankrupt for a second time.
  • TLC:  The singing trio had great commercial success, and had one album that sold over 11 million copies. Unfortunately the millions they made from their records and touring weren’t enough to make up for their other huge bills.  Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in an alcohol induced rage set her boyfriend’s house on fire, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins had huge medical bills because of her sickle cell anemia, and their record deal wasn’t very favorable to them.  All of that meant that they were forced to declare bankruptcy. The band never fully recovered, and on the eve of the release of their fourth album, Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras.
  • Mick Fleetwood:  By the early 1980s Fleetwood Mac’s drummer along with his bandmates had sold more than 55 million albums, and was selling out tours around the world.  Most of his bandmates held onto their wealth, but Mick filed for bankruptcy in 1984.  He says that he blew his millions on real estate, failed business ventures and lots of drugs.  By his own account he spent about 8 million dollars on cocaine alone.   By the 90s he had kicked his drug habit, and the band’s reunion tour had allowed him to re-stock his bank account with an estimated 3.5 million dollars.
  • Cyndi Lauper: Before becoming a huge star Cyndi Lauper was in another band that had an album that flopped. They fired their manager, the manager sued – and they ended up in bankruptcy.  Luckily for Cyndi her bankruptcy was out the way by the time she released her 1983 multiplatinum debut album – and she was able to make her millions.
  • Andy Gibb:  He was a huge star in the late 70s with a long list of disco hits.  He was on top of the world dating other celebrities, and being a who’s who of the entertainment world.  By the 1980s he had become drug addicted and was playing small gigs at hotel casinos to get by.  He went bankrupt in 1987 and died within a year.
  • Isaac Hayes:  The “Shaft” star had a silky smooth voice and rode his pipes to commercial success, an Oscar several milestone soul records.  Despite his success his record label was in financial trouble and stopped paying him.  He sued his label.   In turn Hayes stopped paying banks that had loaned him thousands of dollars, and they sued him.   6 million in debt Hayes lost his house and his royalties to all his music.  Starting in 1997 he was able to get back in the black through his turn as “Chef” on the animated series “South Park”.

For more details about these stories, check out the original article.

What’s The Moral Of The Story?

So what’s the lesson that we can learn from all of these musicians and their financial troubles?

  1. Pay attention to your finances: Too many of these stars just didn’t care enough about their finances until it was too late. They trusted shady managers too much, spent too much when they should have saved, and in general ignored their bank statements.
  2. Pay your taxes! :  Several of these sad stories happened because these artists simply didn’t pay their taxes on their wealth.  This could have easily been avoided by enlisting trustworthy help, and by paying their taxes.
  3. Stay off the drugs kids! : What happens when you get hooked on drugs?  You spend more than you have just to get the next fix.  Some of them ended up dead from their addictions.  All of them ended up broke.
  4. If you’re not good with money, enlists someone you can trust to help you: A good number of these stars didn’t have trustworthy managers, or people who were good with money helping them. They enlisted the help of friends or hangers-on to manage their money. The result was that they lost it all. Enlist the help of a good certified financial planner to help you manage your money.
  5. Money can’t buy you happiness:  So many of these celebrities found that even the fame and fortune they had always longed for couldn’t bring them happiness. Too often they tried to make themselves happy by spending millions, by doing drugs and through illicit relationships.    You can only find true deep and lasting happiness through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

What other things do you think we can learn from these sad stories?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Related Posts

  • Famous Musician Bankruptcies: From Millions To Broke – Toni Braxton

    Six time Grammy award winner Toni Braxton filed for bankruptcy last year, for the second time. Here's a look at how she dug herself a…

  • Famous Musician Bankruptcies: From Millions To Broke – 50 Cent

    There are a lot of famous music artists who have filed bankruptcy. Today we learned of another one, 50 Cent. Here's what went wrong for…

  • 10 Attributes Of The Perpetually Broke

    Here are a few of the attributes that broke people have that contribute to them continually finding themselves short of cash.

Share29
Pin
Tweet14
Share3
46 Shares
Last Edited: 27th May 2011 The content of biblemoneymatters.com is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Visitors to biblemoneymatters.com should not act upon the content or information without first seeking appropriate professional advice. In accordance with the latest FTC guidelines, we declare that we have a financial relationship with every company mentioned on this site.

This article is about: Commentary, finance

About Peter Anderson

Peter Anderson is a Christian, husband to his beautiful wife Maria, and father to his 2 children. He loves reading and writing about personal finance, and also enjoys a good board game every now and again. You can find out more about him on the about page. Don't forget to say hi on Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook!

Comments

    Share Your Thoughts: Cancel reply

  1. Matt Jabs says

    Amazing isn’t it…

    On a side note, I learned that Thomas Jefferson was in debt his entire life, and that his creditors seized Monticello from his family after his death! Debt forgives no man!
    Matt Jabs´s last blog ..One World Currency – New World Order

    Reply
  2. Brian says

    I love this article. Makes me want to do similar research with athletes! May take a few years to collect all of the data!

    @Matt – I like the TJ reference. Gave me a thought for an upcoming post!
    Brian´s last blog ..Six Months Disposable Products – Draining Our Wallets

    Reply
  3. CindyS says

    Hmmm. I wish I could sing my way out of debt. The only way it would work was if people paid me to quit. :)
    CindyS´s last blog ..Update on Blood From A Turnip

    Reply
    • Peter says

      heh. you’re funny.

      Reply
Previous Post: Having A Hard Time With Your Refinance Or Loan Modification Under The Making Homes Affordable Program? Join The Club.
Next Post: Devotional: Grasshoppers and Giants
Discover Investment Platforms

Popular Posts

  • 21 Easy Ways To Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards
  • 10 Best Free Tax Filing Services And Software Online
  • 21 Apps That Pay You Real Money Fast
  • 17 TV Apps And Live TV Streaming Services To Watch TV Free
  • 30 Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well
  • 37 Easy Ways To Get Free Gift Cards
  • How To Get Free Stock
  • 40 Easy Ways To Get Free Money Fast
  • 21 Places To Read Free Books Online
  • 24 Legit Online Jobs
  • 17 Best Work From Home Jobs: A List Of Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well

Recent Posts

  • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
  • How to Save Money When Remodeling A Home
  • How To Hire A Contractor For Your Remodeling Project
  • Remembering 9/11 Years Later: Where Were You On That Fateful Day?
  • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
  • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
  • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
  • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
  • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
  • 30 Quotes About Easter And Resurrection: He Is Risen!

Disclaimer

The information contained in BibleMoneyMatters.com is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that we have a financial relationship with some of the companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.

Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. We do our best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

We respect your privacy: Privacy Policy.

Thanks for visiting!

Bible Money Matters - Seen On These Sites and more..
Bible Money Matters is a personal finance, entrepreneurship and investing community. Give more, save more and live more.

Copyright © 2023 · Bible Money Matters | Sitemap | Advertise | Privacy Policy