Celebrities In The Red: Famous Faces With A Checkered Financial Past

When you see photos of garages packed with supercars, giant houses with pools, basketball courts and home cinemas and closets adorned with designer bags and dripping in jewels, it’s natural to assume that celebrities are rich beyond their wildest dreams. While many famous people are unquestionably wealthy, sometimes, the facade can be deceptive. There are many celebrities who have a chequered financial past.

High-profile movie stars Wesley Snipes and Nicolas Cage are prime examples of what can happen when you overspend and fail to keep track of how much tax you owe. Snipes was ordered to spend 3 years in jail and pay back over $17 million to the IRS, while Cage paid the IRS over $6 million in 2009. Fellow actor, Stephen Baldwin, was declared bankrupt in 2009 with over $2 million worth of debt. In 2012, he was also arrested for tax evasion.

Hollywood is not the only hot spot for celebrity debts. Music stars are also commonly affected. Lil Wayne has been charged with tax evasion, and at one point, owed more than $12 million to the IRS. Songstress Toni Braxton had already filed for bankruptcy once when she was forced to repeat the action in 2010. Claiming debts of around $50 million, Braxton settled in 2013 having reduced the amount to $150,000. Six months later, she bought a house worth $3 million. American singer-songwriter, Willie Nelson came up with an innovative solution to pay off his debts after filing for bankruptcy in 1990. Nelson released an album entitled ‘The IRS Tapes’ to pay back the IRS, a feat he achieved in 1993.

Sports stars are also prone to tumbling into debt. By 2014, Dennis Rodman had amassed unpaid debts worth $453,000, but that’s a mere drop in the ocean when you consider that baseball star, Lenny Dykstra, filed for bankruptcy in 2009 claiming debts totaling more than $35 million.

It’s easy to assume that all celebrities have endless amounts of money, but this infographic shows that this is not always the case.

Infographic Design By Snappy Payday Loans