# What are the biggest fortunes people have squandered **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161 "2019-04-07T02:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/1 "2019-04-07T02:30:20Z")
Mike Tyson earned 300-400 million dollars and blew it all in under 20 years. Granted, after taking in account taxes and fees for agents and managers I’m guessing he earned less than half that amount, but still that means he blew through 150-200 million dollars. So what are the biggest fortunes that have been squandered? Things I’m not talking about. 1. A company going under or failing. So if you invest 5 billion in a business that fails, I wouldn’t consider that the same thing. People who squander their money make bad decisions here and there on investments, but I’m not talking about things like Paul Allen losing $8 billion on telecommunications investments. However if Paul Allen had spent 8 billion on hookers, drugs, luxury items and stupid stuff, that would count. 2. A dictator being overthrown. Quadaffi had 200 billion hidden away and he lost it after he was overthrown. I’m more asking whats the biggest amount of money people have blown on gambling, bad decisions, supporting family and friends, luxury spending, being ripped off, etc. There are multiple stories of athletes losing 50-400 million dollar fortunes in a decade or so, but I don’t know if fortunes bigger than that have been lost. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/2 "2019-04-07T02:40:11Z")
How about the heirs of King Mansa Musa of Mali? (or do they fall in your ‘overthrown’ category? – My understanding is that the fortune was mostly squandered.) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/3 "2019-04-07T02:50:47Z")
Wait…@OP: Do you mean Gaddafi had $200 million or $200 billion? Even for a dictator, the latter sounds like a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/4 "2019-04-07T03:04:58Z")
and things like the vanderbuilts where everyone the family knew or married was out to spend their money I remember when Gloria vanderbuilt was making fashionable blue jeans and when asked on a talk show she said most of the kids and grandkids money was spent in payoffs divorces and lawyers fees and there wasn’t much left by the time she was of age to inherit Her son cnns Anderson cooper said that she told him not to expect much if anything because it was just about gone which is one reason why he went into journalism ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/5 "2019-04-07T03:18:42Z")
Evander Holyfield is another boxer that went bust and supposedly made as much as $560 Million during his career, now apparently worth $500,000, that’s pretty bad. I’m sure the huge house he had built was a bad idea, at one point it was the largest residential home in Atlanta, at 109 rooms and over 50,000 sq. feet. I think Rick Ross owns it now. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/6 "2019-04-07T03:23:21Z")
Elvis was ripped off for huge amounts of money by his manager Colonel Tom Parker: > **[Colonel Tom Parker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Tom_Parker)** > > Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 – January 21, 1997), commonly known as Colonel Parker, was a Dutch musical entrepreneur, best known for being Elvis Presley's manager. > Parker, who was born in the Netherlands, entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. He adopted a new name and claimed to have been born in the United States. His Dutch birthplace and immigrant status were not revealed for many years. A carnival worker by background, Parker ... Such that his estate was only worth $4.9 million dollars when he died: > **[What Is Elvis’ Net Worth on His 80th Birthday?](https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/celebrities/much-elvis-worth-his-80th-birthday/)** > > Jan. 8, 2015 would have been Elvis Presley's 80th birthday, had he not died in 1977. Elvis Presley fans remain as devoted as ever to the singer and his music. There's no doubt that Elvis was a central cultural figure of the 20th century, challenging... Today the estate is worth $300 million. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/7 "2019-04-07T03:24:03Z")
I do wonder: Why do these people not panic when they see their fortunes diminishing and their $$$ plummeting, and stop blowing money? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/8 "2019-04-07T03:28:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wait…@OP: Do you mean Gaddafi had $200 million or $200 billion? Even for a dictator, the latter sounds like a bit much. I’ve heard it speculated that Putin has a true net worth upwards of $200 billion. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/9 "2019-04-07T03:36:54Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wait…@OP: Do you mean Gaddafi had $200 million or $200 billion? Even for a dictator, the latter sounds like a bit much. The net worth of dictators like Gaddafi are harder to pin down than normal super rich people. The assets of the country and the assets of the leader tend to be hard to separate. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/10 "2019-04-07T03:52:33Z")
Not the biggest fortune, but [David Milch](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/david-milch-made-100m-gambled-866184), who created NYPD Blue and Deadwood, supposed gambled away $100 million. I’ve heard rumors that Charlie Sheen blew most of the money he made on Two and a Half Men, which was something like several hundred million. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/11 "2019-04-07T04:00:43Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wait…@OP: Do you mean Gaddafi had $200 million or $200 billion? Even for a dictator, the latter sounds like a bit much. > **[Qaddafi Was Worth More Than $200 Billion — By Far The Richest Person In The...](https://www.businessinsider.com/qaddafi-200-billion-richest-2011-10)** ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/12 "2019-04-07T04:06:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wait…@OP: Do you mean Gaddafi had $200 million or $200 billion? Even for a dictator, the latter sounds like a bit much. Going by IMF figures from FRED, Libya was exporting around a million barrels a day of crude oil throughout the 2000-10 period. [Crude Oil Exports for Libya (LBYNXGOCMBD) | FRED | St. Louis Fed](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LBYNXGOCMBD) A million barrels-ish a day at what? 50 USD/barrel? Anyway, this would be around 50 million dollars per day minus costs. About 18 billion USD a year. And we’re not counting natural gas exports. How much of that was he siphoning off, during his reign from the start of the Jamahiriya in 1977 until his death in 2011? 200 is probably pushing it, but I could see 100 billion USD. Wonder where it all went? EDIT: Compare with how ludicrously rich the royal family of Brunei is supposed to be, and they have average oil exports in the ~160,000 barrel a day range. [Brunei Crude Oil: Exports, 1980 – 2024 | CEIC Data](https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/brunei/crude-oil-exports) To be fair, I thought most of their energy exports were in natural gas, but 1/6 to 1/8th Libya’s production still lead to some staggering fortunes. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/13 "2019-04-07T04:15:56Z")
SmartAlecCat has a point about Mansa Musa, and his pilgrimage to Mecca. [Mansa Musa - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_I_of_Mali#Islam_and_pilgrimage_to_Mecca) FTL: > [@](#): > > Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325.[21][22] His procession reportedly included 60,000 men, all wearing brocade and Persian silk, including 12,000 slaves,[23] who each carried 1.8 kg (4 lb) of gold bars, and heralds dressed in silks, who bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals.[20] Those animals included 80 camels which each carried 23–136 kg (50–300 lb) of gold dust. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. It was reported that he built a mosque every Friday. Hard to blow through money faster than that guy. Starting wars is a pretty good way to though. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/14 "2019-04-07T09:17:59Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I do wonder: Why do these people not panic when they see their fortunes diminishing and their $$$ plummeting, and stop blowing money? Very often, they don’t ever open their own bank records. They find out the money is gone when so’s the manager who’s taken a big chunk of it, including a big chunk of the amount he’s put them in the hock for. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/15 "2019-04-07T11:04:36Z")
There is an old saying from Yorkshire, England - “From clogs to clogs in three generations.” This is based on the idea that it takes one generation to found a business, the next to build it, and the third to spend it. After WW", here in the UK, we had Lady Docker. She was from a modest background but managed to marry and outlive no less than three millionaires and worked hard to spend all their fortunes. I can’t find any estimate of how much she spent, but in today’s money, it must surely have been a £billion or two. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/16 "2019-04-07T13:20:56Z")
Terry Watanabe inherited a successful importing business from his father in 1977, and built it into a major direct mail retailer- The Oriental Trading Company. He sold it in 2007. At loose ends after a life of hard work, he tried gambling. He is now broke, having lost approximately $127,000,000. By all accounts, he was a terrible gambler. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/17 "2019-04-07T14:08:30Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > There is an old saying from Yorkshire, England - “From clogs to clogs in three generations.” This is based on the idea that it takes one generation to found a business, the next to build it, and the third to spend it. > > After WW", here in the UK, we had Lady Docker. She was from a modest background but managed to marry and outlive no less than three millionaires and worked hard to spend all their fortunes. I can’t find any estimate of how much she spent, but in today’s money, it must surely have been a £billion or two. Its called shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations here. The argument is the first generation builds it, the second blows it and the third blows what little is left. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/18 "2019-04-07T14:16:36Z")
I don’t get it. What do the rich wear instead of shirts? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/19 "2019-04-07T14:17:55Z")
Nicolas Cage at one time had $150 million, now down to $25 million–even though earning many millions each year: > **[Nicolas Cage: How Much is the Eccentric Actor Worth?](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nicolas-cage-how-much-is-the-eccentric-actor-worth.html/)** > > Nicolas Cage was once worth $150 million., but much of that fortune is gone. Here's the eccentric actor's currrent net worth. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161/20 "2019-04-07T14:59:14Z")
I knew a young couple who won just over 1 million dollars (before taxes) in a lottery, and were destitute in under two years. He purchased an expensive car immediately after winning, then hired a contractor to rush-build a garage for the car. _But_, they were renting the home and never spoke with their landlord about new construction on the property. They paid the contractor cash way above his bid on the job to get it built quickly so the car didn’t sit outside. A short time later, the property owner discovered what had happened and there were legal issues with the fact that the garage was built without a permit. The landlord threw the couple out and they bought a very nice house. They spent lots of money on parties, where cocaine was always provided for all guests like something you’d see on _Miami Vice_. I attended one of the parties and was shocked/amazed/disturbed by their lifestyle. When they ran out of money, the woman broke into her parent’s home (she was estranged from her folks) and stole valuables she knew they had. She was caught when she pawned the items and her parents wanted her prosecuted. I lost track of the couple at that point. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-biggest-fortunes-people-have-squandered/832161.md?page=2)