10 World-famous Stars Who Went Bankrupt

Some people make a fortune faster than others. Some win playing at the online casino, others become famous actors and singers, and others find entrepreneurial success. But having a lot of money does not mean that a person knows how to be financially stable. Let’s take a look at 10 stars who went bankrupt.

Evander Holyfield

The famous heavyweight boxer made over two hundred million dollars during his career! What happened? It got so bad his mansion with 109 rooms was seized and sold. Evander was left with almost nothing. Everything went to pay bills and debts.

Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson had a fortune of 400 million in his financial heyday. An astronomical sum indeed. It would seem that you could live, have fun, and play Playstation for the rest of your life without a care in the world. But in 2003, Tyson refused to pay $50 million in debts, which resulted in bankruptcy once the creditors started coming after him.

Chris Tucker

In 2007, Tucker was setting records: he was paid an unprecedented $25 million for his role in “Rush Hour 3”! But three years later, it turned out that he had evaded taxes and ended up accumulating so much debt and fines that he had to sell off his extra mansions.

MC Hammer

In 1991, Hammer made $33 million from his music. He bought cars, yachts, record companies, and that’s not counting the house (almost a palace) with a 17-car garage. But in 1996, he woke up and realized: all he had was $14 million in debt. MC Hammer filed bankruptcy papers with the court, and since then, Hammer has bounced back and is a big player in the tech space. Way to turn your losses into wins.

Wesley Snipes

Snipes was one of the highest-paid black actors in the 90s. He failed to pay taxes totaling $12 million. But the taxman is relentless, Snipes went to jail for three years.

Toni Braxton

The famous vocalist sold more than 40 million records. But she had to file for bankruptcy twice! The first time was in 1998, after signing a bad contract when the bosses of LaFace Records bailed on her. The second was in 2010 after doctors found Braxton had lupus and the singer had to cancel an expensive Las Vegas residency. Be careful what you sign, contracts matter!

Sheryl Swoopes

A women’s basketball icon, Swoopes was one of the first superstars of the WNBA. Swoopes had her own shoe with Nike, Olympic medals, and WNBA titles. She earned an eye-popping $50 million during her days on the court. Swoopes says bad investments and bad representation caused her to lose her money. She owed the IRS and, ended up having to sell some of her trophies and Olympic medals to get back on her feet.

Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks entered into the professional boxing world during the 1970s. He’s one of the few who can say they beat Muhammad Ali. Spinks was worth about $4 million at his peak.

But that was all gone by the time he hit retirement. Spinks lost his money the old fashion way, gambling addiction, and drug use. Naturally, this lead to quite a few arrests. The former World Champion even spent time working as a janitor at a YMCA. However, before his death in February of 2021, Spinks rebounded from addiction and became a spokesman for boxers who suffered head trauma.

 Tiki Barber

Tikki Barber is one of the standout names in the history of running backs with the New York Giants. He seemed poised for a breakout second career as a sports analyst with NBC and was still bringing home the big bucks. But then he started an affair with an intern, decided to leave his wife Ginny – who was pregnant at the time, after 11 years of marriage – and marry her. This was the catalyst for a downward spiral. First, he was fired from NBC for marrying the intern because of morality clauses. Then had to pay his ex-wife. He announced he was coming out of retirement in 2011. Nobody cared, and all of that led to him eventually filing for bankruptcy.

Elvis Presley

The generous Elvis gave away limousines and flew on a plane for a hamburger. No wonder the king of rock’n’roll was on the verge of bankruptcy in the last years of his life, he even borrowed money for current expenses, promising to work it off in the near future. After his death, the family inherited a nearly empty bank account and a hundred times mortgaged real estate.