Famous people in history that went bankrupt

March 27, 2023September 26, 2023 - by Vikas Chaudhary - 2 Comments.

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Famous people in history that went bankrupt

Some time even famous people may have little choice but to file for bankruptcy if they are unable to pay their debts, notwithstanding the stigma attached to it. Financial hell can be reached by famous people at any income level due to reckless risk-taking, shady dealing, out-of-control spending, a large tax burden, or just plain poor luck. And as we shall see some famous and rich people end up in bankruptcy

Abraham Lincoln: famous people

IMAGE CREDITS: Unsplash.com

Abraham Lincoln was left high and dry in 1833 after borrowing $1,000 to buy a general store in New Salem, Illinois, even though he wasn’t technically bankrupt in the modern sense of the word. The following year, the company went bankrupt, and Lincoln was unable to settle the obligation. It took the future president a while to pay off his debts when his two remaining assets—his horse and surveying tools—were seized.

Veronica Lake

Film siren Veronica Lake, who is known for her femme fatale appearances in 1940s movies such This Gun for Hire and The Blue Dahlia, not to mention her much-imitated wavy haircut, had a major alcohol addiction that contributed to her decline as a star. Towards the conclusion of her cinematic career in 1951, Lake filed for bankruptcy.

The sad actress’s property was confiscated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) due to unpaid taxes, and she had obligations of $156,574 vs assets of $168,050. Early in the 1960s, Lake worked as a cocktail waitress before returning to acting in 1963. She appeared on stage and in a number of TV programs before passing away very soon, at the age of 50, from an alcohol-related illness.

Aaron Carter: famous people

IMAGE CREDITS: istockphoto.com

Aaron Carter, the younger sibling of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter followed his sibling into the entertainment industry and amassed a staggering $200 million by the time he was 18 years old, which should have provided him with a comfortable lifestyle. There was one catch, though. Carter owes the Federal Revenue Service millions of dollars as a result of his failure to pay his taxes.

The former child star alleged that his parents mismanaged his finances. At the age of 26, Carter declared bankruptcy under Chapter 7 with assets totaling just $8,232 and obligations totaling $2.2 million, the majority of which was owing to US tax authorities. Carter has since put a lot of effort into making ends meet by putting out songs and appearing in as many performances as he can, but in 2017 he was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession.

Mark Twain: famous people

The famous American author Mark Twain, real name Samuel Clemens, earned a decent living from writing but squandered a fortune on investments in cutting-edge machinery, most notably the Paige typesetting machine. During the 1880s and the early 1890s, Twain invested $300,000 on the device, but when the Linotype made it obsolete, he was severely out of pocket.

In a New York state court, the Father of American literature declared himself bankrupt in 1894. He owed $100,000, which with inflation would be equivalent to $2.9 million. Thankfully, Twain’s financial situation improved with the aid of industrialist from the Gilded Age Henry Huttleston Rogers, and he fully repaid his creditors while having no legal duty to do so.

Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney, an actor and comedian, had a personal fortune of almost $12 million during the height of his career. Yet by the start of the 1960s, the guy Vanity Fair called “the original Hollywood train catastrophe” had consumed the majority. In 1962, he made a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Rooney had expensive drug and alcohol problems, was a compulsive gambler, and squandered his money on top of it all. The celebrity never recovered his riches, and in 2011, before a Senate Select Committee hearing, he accused his family members of elder abuse and financial exploitation. The 95-year-old Hollywood legend passed away in 2014 with an estate worth just $18,000 and unpaid medical bills and taxes.

Henry John Heinz: famous people

Henry John Heinz, who founded the household name in food, was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1875 when the Panic of 1873 forced his condiment company, Heinz Noble & Company, into administration. The company’s horseradish relish, which was based on his mother’s traditional recipe, had dismal sales, which was primarily to blame for the failure.

Heinz, who had $160,000 in debt and only $110,000 in assets, narrowly avoided going to jail and at one point had trouble paying for food. Fortunately, the resourceful entrepreneur started F & J Heinz the following year. Shortly after, he introduced the company’s renowned Tomato Ketchup, and the rest is history.

Boris Becker: famous people

IMAGE CREDITS: istockphoto.com

Boris Becker, a tennis player and member of the UK High Court. Had a once-estimated net worth of approximately $131 million. Nevertheless, he was declared bankrupt in 2017 in London. Due to debts that are thought to have totalled $4.1 million owed to the private bank Arbuthnot Latham. The six-time Grand Slam champion may owe his numerous creditors up to $70.7 million, according to the German media.

Becker was accused of concealing assets in 2019, including a Chelsea, London, house and £1.2 million in cash. Then, in October 2020, Becker was accused of providing cash to individuals. As well as not revealing his awards and medals to bankruptcy trustees, however the former tennis champion disputed this.

Karen Millen: famous people

IMAGE CREDITS: istockphoto.com

With just £100 ($220), fashion entrepreneur Karen Millen co-founded her own company in 1981. In 1983, she opened her first store in Maidstone, England. In the 1980s and 1990s. The British chain continued to grow. And by the beginning of the 2000s, Karen Millen had 130 locations worldwide. When the company was purchased by the Icelandic firm Mosaic Fashions in 2004. Millen made a tidy sum of £35 million.

Despite the fortune, Millen eventually found himself in serious financial problems. The former fashion mogul asserts that she was duped into participating in a dubious tax evasion scheme. And that Kaupthing, the collapsed Icelandic bank that provided financing for the acquisition of her business, had robbed her. In 2016, she was declared bankrupt.