Being a celebrity comes with a lot of perks but it also makes you a target for con artists, lawsuits, and mismanagement of money. The life of fame and fortune includes fancy cars, beautiful homes, and glamour at every turn, but being a celeb also means that you have to be extra careful about who you trust with your money. Here is a short list of just a few celebs who lost millions making some costly mistakes.
Debbie Reynolds
This “Singing In The Rain” starlet made a fortune in her years as being one of the main MGM stars in the studio’s heyday. Her successful career did not translate to a successful love life, however. Reynolds was very vocal up until her death last year about her second husband, Harry Karl, gambling all of her money (reportedly millions) away.
Toni Braxton
The famous R&B songstress of the 90s faced bankruptcy not once, but twice. The first time Braxton filed for bankruptcy it was reported that she was in a vicious cycle of debt due to an expensive home decor and flatware obsession, mismanagement of money and a record deal gone sour. Her second bankruptcy was a combination of financing her own show, then having to cancel it due to health complications.
Kevin Bacon And Kyra Sedgwick
These two seasoned professional actors had a hard time spotting someone who was acting like he had their best interests at heart when he really didn’t. In the Ponzi scheme of perhaps the century, Bacon and Sedgwick lost millions of their hard earned savings to former stockbroker and con artist Bernie Madoff. In an interview with GQ, Bacon explains that the news was hard but that he and Sedgwick knew that everything would be alright.
Kim Basinger
Back in 1993, Basinger was riding high with a successful career and becoming one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood. In Hollywood though, they take contracts and acting commitments seriously and when Basinger backed out of the film Boxing Helena, the studio was so upset that they sued. Main Line Pictures sued the actress, and after boxing it out in court over the span of years, Basinger eventually settled but the lawsuit came at a price. Basinger was forced to file bankruptcy.
Just because you are a celebrity, doesn’t mean that fortune is certain and that you have the money savvy to make smart investment moves like investing in managed futures and bonds. These celebs all learned the hard way that making a mistake like falling in love with the wrong person, signing a bad record contract, trusting your money with a con artist, or backing out of a film, can have the potential for financial ruin.
