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Shane Ritchie
Shane Ritchie may be a famous star on the TV screen but don’t expect to see him splashing his cash on expensive furniture or buying everyone a drink at the pub.
Despite the rumoured £200,000 wage packet during his time at Eastenders, the lovable Alfie Moon faced arrears on the £8,000 a month mortgage of his £2million mansion. Ritchie had to sell his dream home to avoid bankruptcy and clear up his debts.
The TV star bought the house complete with a pool and cinema in 1996 for £400,000, but had to remortgage five times over the years running up £500,000 in debt after his career nosedived. Returning to our TV screens as the lovable Alfie Moon, he used his new income to splurge £250,000 in a 40th birthday party and fund a movie called Shoreditch starring Joely Richardson.
“I bankrolled it to the tune of half a million,” he says. “Every penny I had went into it. Last summer my car was repossessed. I could not pay the mortgage for a year and bailiffs were threatening to come round over a £2,000 bill.”
His friends helped him clear up his immediate debts and will no doubt be expecting to see their cash returned now Ritchie is back in the money.
Marvin Gaye
Born April 2, 1939(1939-04-02)
Washington, D.C.,
United States
Died April 1, 1984 (aged 44)
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)",
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine",
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough",
"Sexual Healing"
Motown genius Marvin Gaye didn't just lose his millions to the taxman; he also lost them to a costly divorce (despite having offered his ex-wife the profits of a specially recorded album entitled Here, My Dear) and the rest was spent on a much publicised drug addiction. He was made bankrupt in 1979 and suffered the humility of living in a bread van while planning his 1982 comeback. Despite the grim circumstances, Gaye managed to pen one of his biggest hits, Sexual Healing, before tragically being shot dead by his own father, two years later.
George Best
Former footballer, George Best, lived his life surrounded by women, gambling, fast cars and alcohol.
At the height of his career, Best was taking home £3,500 a week while the average footballer would bring home £75. But the large wage packet and the alcohol fuelled lifestyle failed to support the footballer and his life and health.
He took up gambling after he gave up football, claiming that it was his way of filling the void in his life. In November 1982, George was declared bankrupt, owing creditors £22,000. His most famous comment on his lifestyle was, “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”
MC Hammer
For a while in the early 90s, MC Hammer had it all. In the hip-hop game, Hammer quite literally wore the trousers. But even a hit as big as U Can't Touch This couldn't fund a lavish and generous lifestyle forever. He managed to squander $33 million in just five years, filing for bankruptcy in 1996 owing $13.7 million with only $9.6 million in assets. In his court hearing, Hammer listed debts including a $500,000 loan from Dallas Cowboys star Deion Sanders and $100,000 owed to an interior decorator whose business went bust after the rapper didn't pay. We're guessing that's who was responsible for famously installing a dishwasher in the rapper's bedroom, alongside a gold and marble Jacuzzi (surely he could've just bunged the dishes in there to save money?).
TLC
The singing trio had great commercial success, and had one album that sold over 11 million copies. Unfortunately the millions they made from their records and touring weren’t enough to make up for their other huge bills. Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in an alcohol induced rage set her boyfriend’s house on fire, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins had huge medical bills because of her sickle cell anemia, and their record deal wasn’t very favorable to them. All of that meant that they were forced to declare bankruptcy. The band never fully recovered, and on the eve of the release of their fourth album, Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras.
Michael Jackson
For Michael Jackson, though, it looks like Pop goes the King. Jackson's chained to a $200 million millstone of debt, says a California lawsuit, and he's reportedly trying to stave off bankruptcy, scraping by on a million bucks a month. Don't let retirement sneak up on you.
Michael's meltdown started to show when his parents, Joe and Katherine, filed for bankruptcy, claiming debts of $45 million and assets of around $400,000.
The Jackson kids Tito, Jermaine, Randy and Rebbie also went bust, but Michael and his songbird sisters Janet and LaToya did nothing, saying they had no part of the family firm.
Others say the King of Pop couldn't help anyway. "Michael Jackson is a ticking financial time bomb, waiting to explode at any moment," says a lawsuit that seeks to freeze Jackson's Neverland assets.
The company behind the lawsuit says it arranged $230 million in loans for the singer between 1998 and 2000, and he owes them $12 million. The suit says he used much of the money to refinance earlier loans.
On top of his money woes, the singer faces molestation charges, his records aren't selling the way they used to, and he doesn't want to go home to his Neverland ranch since sheriffs "violated" the place by searching it.
Elton John
Over a 20-month period between 1996 and 1997 Elton John spent $205,774 on flowers alone -- and that's just a smidgen of his spending.
In 1999, the BBC reported that John asked a merchant bank to help him borrow $40 million to pay off his debts. A year later he admitted running up debts more than $2 million a month. His spending sprees were reported to include purchases of classic cars, clothing and jewelry.
John claimed his former accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, misappropriated millions of dollars. He filed suit. But defense lawyers seemed to think John's money problems lay elsewhere.
"I'm not a nest-egg person," said John when defense lawyers questioned his spending habits. "I'm a single man. I like spending my money."
The London Court of Appeals shot down John's lawsuit. The lawsuit cost him an additional $11.8 million in legal fees.
Mike Tyson
Former boxing champion Mike Tyson became a household name during a career which earned him more than £165 million. However, the famous boxer is now longer throwing his money around after being declared bankrupt with debts of more than £70 million.
His luxurious mansions have long since been sold along with his collection of classic cars. The boxing champion now lives in a modest rented home in Phoenix.
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