9 Celebs Whose Net Worth (Or Lack Of) Would Surprise You
Published on March 16, 2016. Updated April 16, 2019Celebrities are able to make the kind of money that most of us will never see in our lifetime, but with more money comes more responsibility! Handling that much money isn’t always easy and resisting the temptations involved with extreme wealth can be even harder. That’s why some stars have less millions than you’d expect, and some are even living on mere thousands, and some OWE more money than you could ever imagine. Check out this list of 9 celebrities whose net worth (or lack-of) would surprise you.
9. Nicolas Cage
Estimated Net Worth: $25 million. At first you might be impressed by a net worth of $25 million, but hold on just a minute. Nicholas Cage has been in the business for decades, has starred in some of the most popular movies of his generation, and was once one of the highest paid actors in the world taking in over $40 million each and every year (e.g. he earned $16 million for the movie Snake Eyes, $20 million for Gone in Sixty Seconds, $20 million for Windtalkers, and yet another $20 million for the film National Treasure). This means, he should have much more money than he actually does. So how does he ONLY have $25 million now? Well it probably has something to do with the fact that he has 15 mansions, 4 yachts, a private jet, a private island, and a 67 million year old dinosaur skull which he recently had to return to its rightful owner, the Mongolian government. Since the movie offers don’t seem to be rolling in these days, it might be a good idea for Nicolas Cage to learn to be a little more frugal with his money.
Nicolas Briquet/ABACAPRESS. COM8. Mike Tyson
Estimated Net Worth: $1 million. Mike Tyson is another high-earner who couldn’t manage to keep the millions in his pockets. Being one of the most famous boxers of his generation and taking in an incredible $400 million for his fights, in 2003 he claimed that he not only lacked those millions, but was in fact $50 million in debt. It took him years to work off what he owed and nowadays he’s not nearly worth what he used to be with a minor estimated fortune of only $1 million.
REX7. Lindsay Lohan
Estimated Net Worth: $500 thousand. Tackling the industry by storm as a freckle-face child actor, Lindsay Lohan was making more before she turned 20 than some of us make in an entire lifetime. But seeing that kind of success and making that kind of money so early in life wasn’t a ticket to easy-street and she stumbled hard as she reached adulthood, managing to squander not only her fame but also her fortune. In 2012, her bank account was seized by the IRS because she owed a whopping $233,000 in back taxes and buddy Charlie Sheen reportedly gave her $100,000 in order to pay off her debts. Oprah also came to the rescue and helped lift Lindsay out of the hole by paying her $2 million for interviews for a documentary series on the Oprah Winfrey Network. These days, she can’t quite claim the title of millionaire as her personal net worth is estimated to be down to a mere $500,000.
Newzulu6. Stephen Baldwin
Estimated Net Worth: $500 thousand. The youngest of the Baldwin brothers and father to model Hailey Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin spent the ‘90s starring in The Usual Suspects and Bio-Dome, but his acting career was apparently as bumpy as his personal finances. In 2009, Stephen and his wife were forced to pay $824,488.36 on their mortgage which resulted in the bank foreclosing on their home in Upper Grandview, (Rockland County) New York and it eventually being auctioned off. This wasn’t their only their only money-related issue. There were also reports that the pair owed payments on another property as well as owing tens of thousands in taxes. That same year, Baldwin filed for bankruptcy saying he owned more than $2.3 million and in 2013, plead guilty to failing to file income taxes for three concurrent years. He agreed to pay back the money or he’ll face five years’ probation, which currently leaves the actor with an estimated $500 thousand, a far cry from the millions you’d assume a Baldwin would have.
MediaPunch / Rex Features5. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt
Estimated Net Worth: $20 thousand. You’d think with all of the shows these reality TV wannabe stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt appeared on, they’d have been able to squirrel away a few dollars. But in real life, they have a lot less than you’d expect and a heck of a lot less than someone in their positions probably should have. Despite gigs on The Hills, Celebrity Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, Marriage Bootcamp: Reality Stars, and Celebrity Wife Swap, Heidi and Spencer notoriously spent a large chunk of their money on her failed music career and plastic surgeries, and on high living that wasn’t at all sustainable. These days, they are only worth an estimated $20 thousand dollars.
Photo by Picture Perfect/REX Shutterstock4. Dennis Rodman
Estimated Net Worth: -$1 million dollars. This is where things start to get really dire. Note that Dennis Rodman is worth -$1 million. Dennis Rodman has never had what one would consider a normal life. Rodman made his mark in the NBA with his wild antics and equally as wild behavior with a style that was as flashy as his personality and no publicity stunt too obscure or wonky, he was pulling in $29 million in salary each year along not to mention endorsement deals and appearance fees. But Dennis seemed to burn ferociously hot before burning right out. In 2012, he faced charges in court because of over $800,000 in child support reportedly owed to his ex-wife but says he’s unable to pay because he’s completely broke.
MediaPunch / Rex Features3. Mekhi Phifer
Estimated Net Worth: -$1.3 million. Another former star who’s now in the million dollar hole is Mekhi Phifer. Riding high on roles like “Future” in Eminem’s film 8 Mile and other hits in the ‘90s and 2000s, he was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2014. He claimed that he only had $67,000 in assets and owed a whopping $1.3 million, mostly in unpaid taxes to the IRS. Luckily for Mekhi, he’s continued to work steadily on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, ER, Torchwood, and House of Lies, which will hopefully help him get back in the black and back on top of his acting game.
Broadimage/REX2. Teresa Giudice
Estimated Net Worth: -$11 million. If you thought owing $1 million was bad, how about owing $11 million? Teresa Giudice has faced her fair share of problems lately, having recently done a stint in prison for fraud all the while remaining on the show Real Housewives which makes her private life very, very public. Despite flaunting a lavish lifestyle on the show and whenever she appears out in public, Teresa and her family’s extravagant spending and legal troubles has not only stripped them of any wealth, but also put them deeply in debt that they are said to be at least $11 million in the red.
Photo by MediaPunch / Rex Features1. Chris Tucker
Estimated Net Worth: -$11.5 million. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could top Teresa Giudice when it comes to debt. The star of the Rush Hour franchise was paid an impressive $20 million for Rush Hour 2 and $25 million plus a massive 20% of the film’s gross receipts which made him the highest paid actor in the world at the time. Perhaps that fact skewed his assumptions about future earnings. Perhaps his spending was out of control. Perhaps he just really had no friggin’ clue how to handle that much money. Whatever happened, the highest paid actor in the world ended up unable to pay his bills and reportedly owed $11 million to the IRS alone. Maybe he needs to pitch the idea for a Rush Hour 4 to bring in some much needed money.
David Fisher/REX