# Extremely rich people who went broke **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841 "2010-10-12T00:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/61 "2010-10-13T17:16:05Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Things to avoid if you want to keep your millions: > [ul] > [li]gambling[/li][li]mansions with high upkeep[/li][li]alcohol and drugs[/li][li]ex-wives[/li][li]crooked/incompetent business managers[/li][li]shorting the IRS[/li][li]investing in ventures you aren’t an expert in[/li][/ul] I’d add: \*putting family and friends on the payroll \*not diversifying your investments \*assuming your present income level will last indefinitely ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/62 "2010-10-13T17:19:19Z")
> [@Promethea](#): > > I’m sure I’m forgetting a stack of others but one that springs to mind is [Evalyn Walsh McLean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Walsh_McLean), former owner of the Hope Diamond. At one time rich enough,thanks to her inherited mining fortune and her husband’s newspaper business, to be able to put the famed diamond around the neck of the family dog and let it run around for laughs. Er, that is the dog ran about not the diamond. There was nothing left of the fortune when she died. I read somewhere a tale of the people who bought her home eagerly searching the floorboards in case a spare nugget of gold had been tossed aside, relic from more wealthy and careless times. They were disappointed. But on a happier note, the dog invested wisely in real estate and security funds and died wealthy at the old age of sixteen. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/63 "2010-10-13T18:21:10Z")
[Jesse Livermore](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Livermore) was worth $3 million after the market crash of 1907 and lost it all. He regained his fortune and was worth $100 million dollars following the crash of 1929. He proceeded to lose 95% of that and killed himself in 1940. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/64 "2010-10-13T19:23:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Elvis Presley- earned tens of millions in his own lifetime and today his estate is worth over a billion dollars; when he died he was on the verge of bankruptcy due to overspending, … Overspending, you say? Like the jet he bought but really never used, or all those jewelry and cars he bought more or less randomly to people he liked or just met; as when when he thought it was a good idea to buy a dozen Cadillacs and Lincons to his “friends” in the Denver Police Department. Back in Graceland his father Vernon – who handled his finances – was devastated and said to Elvis that he is going bankrupt, he must stop spending money like this. Elvis was sorry that daddy was sad, so he – true story – went to the Memphis car dealer and bought him a Cadillac to cheer him up. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/65 "2010-10-13T19:26:35Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > > [@Sampiro](#): > > > > Elvis Presley- earned tens of millions in his own lifetime and today his estate is worth over a billion dollars; when he died he was on the verge of bankruptcy due to overspending, … > > Overspending, you say? Like the jet he bought but really never used, or all those jewelry and cars he bought more or less randomly to people he liked or just met; as when when he thought it was a good idea to buy a dozen Cadillacs and Lincons to his “friends” in the Denver Police Department. Back in Graceland his father Vernon – who handled his finances – was devastated and said to Elvis that he is going bankrupt, he must stop spending money like this. Elvis was sorry that daddy was sad, so he – true story – went to the Memphis car dealer and bought him a Cadillac to cheer him up. And just the other night a friend told me that I was being extravagant by ordering the lemon bread pudding after dinner… IIRC he bought a Cadillac for his mother with his first big check even though she couldn’t drive. (I don’t know if she learned or if he just threw in a driver.) An interesting counterpoint to Elvis is Liberace, who per legend taught him about bling and flashy costumes. Liberace loved to give the impression he was living like Elvis in the 'Devil may care" reckless spending but in fact he always had an eye towards the business end. The costumes of course were bought because they drew crowds, the cars and other flashy items he used were all tax deductible as business expenses [he covered one Rolls in Rhinestone so it couldn’t be driven on the street and therefore was tax deductible] and while it’s true he owned mansions he rarely visited they were in fact an important part of his income: he bought mansions in LA, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and other places as short term rental property, leasing them to celebrities or rich business people who were only going to be in the area a few weeks and wanted to live in style while they did. He died extremely solvent. ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/66 "2010-10-13T22:06:16Z")
Wasn’t Michael Jackson in dire financial straits just prior to his death? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/67 "2010-10-13T22:20:17Z")
> [@Lightlystarched](#): > > Wasn’t Michael Jackson in dire financial straits just prior to his death? This is just a wild guess, but I’d say that some figures like Michael Jackson left very complicated estates that will probably take years before it’s possible to figure out; Jackson’s estate is probably many times richer and more solvent now than when he was alive. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/68 "2010-10-13T23:17:33Z")
Both William Randolph Hearst and George Washington Vanderbilt II trapped their heirs in a similar way: Hearst built Hearst Castle (in addition to his many other monstrosities as mentioned above), which was the most expensive private home in the world, and Vanderbilt built Biltmore (perhaps the only sentence that can use the sound ‘bilt’ three times in succession without violating grammar rules), which was the largest private house in the world. Both required more upkeep than most college campuses and were total white elephants to the people who inherited them: the number of people with the capital to buy them would have been maybe 1% of 1% of 1% of the world and those who had it didn’t want to live in San Luis Obispo or Asheville, NC. In both cases the heirs ultimately turned the white elephant into a working beast by opening them to the public and making enough to not only support the places but turn a profit. Brando left a similar white elephant to his heirs- a small chain of islands near Tahiti. He bought it specifically to keep it from development but sadly he left such a mess financially (due in large part to the millions he spent on his children’s legal problems) that it’s been leased by his heirs to developers. Elvis’s Graceland was a mansion but nowhere near the most lavish in existence or even in Memphis; its popularity as a tourist attraction came from the fame of its owner. I expect the Jackson estate to ultimately open Neverland, which in addition to being one of the most famous houses in entertainment is situated on thousands of acres that can be used to build hotels, restaurants, and other things catering to tourists. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/69 "2010-10-13T23:41:40Z")
Aw **Sampiro** , you missed my joke. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/70 "2010-10-14T00:42:21Z")
Does [deliberately giving away one’s fortune](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/7190750/Millionaire-gives-away-fortune-that-made-him-miserable.html) count? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/71 "2010-10-14T21:44:42Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Does [deliberately giving away one’s fortune](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/7190750/Millionaire-gives-away-fortune-that-made-him-miserable.html) count? Why can’t I ever have a friend who does _that_ when he’s miserable instead of drunk dialing me to share his lamentations? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/72 "2010-10-14T23:18:06Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I expect the Jackson estate to ultimately open Neverland, which in addition to being one of the most famous houses in entertainment is situated on thousands of acres that can be used to build hotels, restaurants, and other things catering to tourists. No way in the world that they will get the permits to do this sort of thing in Santa Barbara County. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/73 "2010-10-14T23:59:30Z")
Saddam Hussein? ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/74 "2010-10-15T03:09:04Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I’m surprised that no one has yet mentioned [Jack Whittaker](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36338-2005Jan25.html), the West Virginia man who won the world’s biggest solo lottery prize in 2002 and was in financial ruin barely three years later. His story has it all. Walking around with big wads of cash, which, as you’d expect, prompted an attempted robbery. Heavy gambling leading to massive losses that he couldn’t pay. Relatives going on drugs and ending up dead. Multiple lawsuits. Strippers and strip clubs. Reading the story will make you glad that you never received a three-hundred-million-dollar windfall. What’s even more WTF is he was moderatly well to do before he won the lottery. Makes me really never EVER want to play the lottery! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/75 "2010-10-15T14:02:35Z")
He is almost unknown today-he was the man who built GM…then lost it to his bankers. He bounced back, and founded a new car company (Durant Motors)-which crashed.At his peak, he was worth north of $2 billion (real money in the 1920’s). At the time of his death, he was living in a room above a Flint, MI bowling alley-he was in his 80’s, but planning a nationwide chain of bowling alleys. You have to admire a man like that-he didn’t care much about the trappings of riches-all he cared about was the chase. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/76 "2010-10-15T16:34:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > An interesting counterpoint to Elvis is Liberace, who per legend taught him about bling and flashy costumes. Liberace loved to give the impression he was living like Elvis in the 'Devil may care" reckless spending but in fact he always had an eye towards the business end. The costumes of course were bought because they drew crowds, the cars and other flashy items he used were all tax deductible as business expenses [he covered one Rolls in Rhinestone so it couldn’t be driven on the street and therefore was tax deductible] and while it’s true he owned mansions he rarely visited they were in fact an important part of his income: he bought mansions in LA, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and other places as short term rental property, leasing them to celebrities or rich business people who were only going to be in the area a few weeks and wanted to live in style while they did. He died extremely solvent. I recall reading an essay by John Waters (I believe) regarding the auction of Liberace’s estate after his death; he was surprised at how chintzy most of the stuff was. Cheap low-end electronics, particleboard furniture, etc. It makes more sense now that I’ve read your take on it. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/77 "2010-10-15T17:14:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Henry Pellatt. He was a wealthy industrialist who at one time owned the largest home in Canada. But by the time he died he would have been homeless if one of his former servants hadn’t taken him in. The only reason he got a funeral service was because he was a veteran and received a military service. “Military service” _really_ under-describes the extent of the service Sir Henry got. He was given the _biggest funeral Toronto had ever seen_ thanks to his enduring popularity with the men of the Queen’s Own Rifles (Pellatt’s regiment). Thousands of people lined the streets for the procession and he was buried with full military honors and a whole lot of pageantry. ([Pic.](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Henry_Pellatt%27s_funeral_at_Toronto_Armouries.jpg)) His power generation empire and his aircraft manufacturing company had been transferred to the government for the war effort without any compensation to Pellatt or his business partners at all. To make up for the enormous losses, he tried to go into real estate, but his deals ended up being crap. He ended up living with one of his chauffeurs. But he was extremely popular with the QOR, understandably, since for the regiments 50tha anniversary, he paid to ship the entire 600-man regiment and all their horses from Canada to England for training. So them men are the ones who collected enough dough to pay for the funeral. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/78 "2010-10-15T17:49:49Z")
[Joshua Norton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_norton) died penniless, and he was an **emperor!** ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/79 "2010-10-16T00:24:47Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > > [@Lightlystarched](#): > > > > Wasn’t Michael Jackson in dire financial straits just prior to his death? > > This is just a wild guess, but I’d say that some figures like Michael Jackson left very complicated estates that will probably take years before it’s possible to figure out; Jackson’s estate is probably many times richer and more solvent now than when he was alive. From what I gathered, he was in the “sell back his assets” phase–not really broke. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841/80 "2010-10-16T15:45:31Z")
[http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2002/foth020909.htm](http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2002/foth020909.htm) Here is a list of entertainers who thought it would never end. From Billy Joel to MCHammer. Part of the problem is they don’t know finances. They trust someone who rips them off.That is what an adviser would tell you to do , but some are not wise enough to track their assets until it is too late. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extremely-rich-people-who-went-broke/556841.md?page=5)