Top 10 Popular Actors Who Became Broke

Too many people spend money they earned to buy things they don't want to impress people that they don't like, is a well-known quote from Will Rogers. The majority of the celebrity actors on this list of famous actors who became broke are examples of this. The majority of them spent money on extravagant and opulent items that they eventually had to sell because of their costs.

The celebrity's life has been portrayed as extravagant, and celebrities, such as actors, musicians, boxers, football players, and so on, are all required to live up to the expectations and demands of the life they have portrayed. On the other hand, celebrities who live an extravagant life buy the most expensive things, such as jewelry, cars, houses, pets, properties, shoes, or a whole town for $20 million.

In addition, despite the fact that the majority of the actors on this list waste money, other famous actors who went broke ended up on the list not only because they wasted money but also because they settled divorces that cost a lot of money and other cases related to the court system. The top ten famous actors who went broke are listed below.

It should be noted that the actors on this list do not lack assets or wealth; however, for a variety of reasons, they have distanced themselves significantly from the estate they once ruled.

Top 10 Famous Stars Who Became Broke

• Nicolas Cage
• Pamela Anderson
• Johnny Depp
• Lena Headey
• Wesley Snipes
• Sinbad
• Kim Basinger
• Tori Spelling
• Kelly Rutherford
• Lindsay Lohan

1. Nicolas Cage – $25 million

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The first on this list of famous actors who went broke is the actor who played Ghost Rider and won many awards. At one point, Nicolas Cage was the highest-earning Hollywood actor, earning more than $40 million from his roles in films that grossed hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. After his films grossed $5 billion at the box office, he lost most of his wealth due to his wasteful spending.

In addition, he made over $15 million solely from acting between 1996 and 2011. In total, he made over $200 million from acting, but he is now only worth a small portion of his earnings because he has spent a lot of money on homes, cars, and rare artifacts. Nicolas had to sell his priceless possessions because of his uncertain spending. He is the only actor on this list who bought a comic book collection for about $2.1 million.

In 2007, the actor bought a Tyrannosaurus bataar skull from a Beverly Hills gallery for $276,000 (£186,000), according to nme.com. He was unaware that the skull had been stolen. At the time of writing, his current worth is estimated to be $25 million by Celebrity Net Worth.

2. Pamela Anderson – $20 million

Pamela Anderson is an American-Canadian actress and model who is best known for her glamour modeling for Playboy magazine and her numerous roles on the television series Baywatch.

Before she lost most of her wealth to extravagant spending, including the purchase of expensive homes, the hosting of expensive parties, and a variety of plastic surgery, Anderson was a prominent Hollywood actress with a net worth of roughly $35 million. In addition, according to Wikipedia, her 2008 purchase of a $1.8 million beach house in Malibu, California, has since been rented out, bringing in approximately $50k per month.

3. Johnny Depp – $150 million

Johnny Depp, the legendary musician and actor best known for his Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, must be included on this list of famous actors who went broke because they spent too much and spent too little.

With a yearly salary of $75 million and over $8 billion in box office sales from his films, Johnny Depp was once the world's highest-paid actor. Johnny Depp has 45 vehicles, 14 homes, a yacht worth $18 million, and spends a lot of money on wine each month.

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In addition to all of his wasteful spending and mismanagement of his wealth, he had to pay out an estimated $40 million in 2017 to settle a number of lawsuits that were raking in millions of dollars. Depp is one of the famous actors who went bankrupt and now has a net worth of $150 million. Over the course of several years, he lost approximately $650 million of his earnings.

4. Lena Headey – $12 million

A popular quote from Will Rogers says “Too many people spend money they earned. . to buy things they don’t want. . to impress people that they don’t like” that is the case with most of the celebrity actors on this list of famous actors who became broke. Most of them spent money on extravagant and luxurious things that later in years had to sell become of the expenses they were incurring.

The celebrity’s life has been portrayed as an extravagant one that celebrities, including musicians, actors, boxers, footballers and so on all have to live up to the expectations and demands of the life they have portrayed, Meanwhile, living an extravagant life, buying the most expensive things, pieces of jewelry, cars, houses, pets, properties, shoes or a whole town for $20 million dollars.

Furthermore, while most of the actors on this list have such wasteful spending, other actors who appear on this list famous actors who became broke came to be on this list not only because of wasteful spending but because of paying overlong due evaded tax or settling divorces that cost them a fortune and other court-related cases. Below is the list of the top 10 famous actors who became broke.

Note that the actors on this list are not without money or properties, but due to a reason or another, they have dropped to a great length from the estate they used to lord over.

1. Nicolas Cage – $25 million

The ghost rider actor and recipient of many awards is the first on this list of famous actors who became broke. Nicolas Cage was a top-earning actor in Hollywood at some point earning more than $40 million dollars and his movies made hundreds of millions box office. His spending which is considered wasteful made him lose most of his wealth after his movies made $5 billion dollars at the box office.

Furthermore, between the years 1996 and 2011, he made over $15o million only in acting, altogether he has made over $200 million dollars in his acting career but he is now worth just a fraction of his earnings due to large spending on homes, automobiles, and rare artifacts. Nicolas’s precarious spending made him sell his precious belongings. He is the only actor on this list that spent about $2.1 million dollars on a comic book collection.

According to nme.com, the actor had purchased a Tyrannosaurus bataar skull from a Beverly Hills gallery for $276,000 (£186,000) in 2007, without knowing it was stolen. Currently, according to Celebrity Net Worth, he is worth $25 million dollars at the time of this writing.

2. Pamela Anderson – $20 million

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Pamela Anderson is a Canadian-American actress and model who is best known for her glamour modeling work in Playboy magazine and for her many appearances on the television series Baywatch.

Anderson was a top actress in Hollywood with a somewhat net worth of about $35 million dollars before she lost most of her wealth to expensive and luxurious spending, like buying luxurious houses, holding costly celebrations, and different plastic medical procedures. Furthermore, according to Wikipedia her $1.8 million beach home in Malibu, California which she bought in 2008 has now been rented out, making her about $50k per month.

3. Johnny Depp – $15o million

The legendary actor and musician Johnny Depp who is most famous for his trilogy movies Pirates of the Caribbean can’t afford not to have a place on this list of famous actors who became broke due to uncontrollable and wasteful spending.

Depp was once the highest-paid actor in the world with an earning of $75 million dollars yearly and his movies grossing over $8 billion dollars at the box office. Johnny Depp owns about 14 homes, an $18 million yacht, and 45 vehicles and spent a considerable amount on wine monthly.

One of his mismanagement and wasteful spending of his wealth made him incur an estimated $40 million dollars in 2017 and aside from all his wasteful spending, he also had to settle a lot of lawsuits that were raking in their millions. Depp now has a net worth of $150 million dollars from losing about $650 million dollars of his earnings over the period of some years, he is among the famous actors who became broke.

4. Lena Headey – $12 million

Lena Headey is a British actress who became famous all over the world for playing Cersei Lannister on HBO's epic fantasy drama Game of Thrones. She is one of the most well-known actors on this list who lost money fighting a lawsuit that had been collecting millions for years.

Her films have grossed more than $2.2 billion over the course of her career, and she earns more than $1 million per film she appears in. However, for her role in Game of Thrones, she made more than $40 million before taxes, and she was close to bankruptcy after losing most of it to her long and arduous divorce battle.

5. Wesley Snipes – $10 million

When it comes to fame, Wesley Snipes is one of the most well-known people in Hollywood at the moment. His movie Blade made more than $150 million worldwide. He was also a wasteful spender, but his tax evasion fraud, for which he later served time in federal prison, was more significant. For the tax years 2003 to 2006, he paid approximately $23.5 million in Federal tax obligations.

6. Sinbad – $100 thousand

Another famous actor who went bankrupt as a result of extravagant spending or a legal battle is Sinbad. In the meantime, his problem wasn't buying the newest cars, shoes, or private jets; rather, it was neglect and poor wealth management, and he ended up having to file for bankruptcy after owing millions of dollars in tax to the state of California. He currently has a net worth of $100,000, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

7. Kim Basinger – $20 million

One of Hollywood's most well-known actresses, Kim Basinger also had a successful modeling career before turning her attention to acting. Basinger lost her money due to a bad investment and a legal battle, in contrast to many of the other actors on this list who lost money by purchasing expensive items. In the meantime, she is the only actor on this list who attempted to purchase almost a whole city in 1989 for $20 million in the hopes of turning it into a tourist attraction center with movie studios and a film festival location.

Because the investment was putting a strain on her, he had to start selling the property piecemeal because this was the beginning of her problem. In the meantime, she was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1993 as a result of her legal dispute with the studio she was working for, which was suing her for a bridge of contract awarding her $8.9 million in damages that were later reduced to $3.8 million.

8. Tori Spelling – $1.5 million

Even though Tori Spelling was born into a wealthy family, she was unable to escape the extravagant lifestyle that has cost her more than she bargained for. In addition, bad real estate decisions and legal battles were the beginnings of her issue. Being born into a wealthy family is not enough, and her anticipated $500 million inheritance from her father's estate was cut short after she received a small sum. She currently has a value of $1.5 million.

9.Kelly Rutherford – $1 million

Kelly Rutherford is an American entertainer who is referred to for her TV jobs as Stephanie Whitmore on the NBC daytime drama Ages. She is among a portion of the well known entertainers who became broke on this rundown not in view of inefficient spending yet generally in light of the extended fight in court she needed to battle. She likewise petitioned for financial protection in 2013 after she was unable to pay the costs she caused because of separation and care fight with her previous spouse.

10. Lindsay Lohan – $2 million

Lindsay Lohan is a famous American actor and singer who went broke. She is also an actress and singer. Well, briefly. co. za says that Lindsay is the least popular person. Lindsay, on the other hand, was the hottest young star in the world when she was much younger. Each film brought in $7.5 million for her.

She was just 18 years old when she had a net worth of more than $30 million in 2004. Her wealth was only estimated at $800,000 as of 2020. She is one of the poorest celebrities as a result.

Key Takeaways

While living a luxurious life is not a bad thing, buying cars, using the latest gadgets, and wearing the most expensive brand or brands, building or building expensive houses are not bad in themselves, it becomes careless and bad when the expenses are more than the income. Well, some of the actors on this list were not directly responsible for their being broke while others are the cause of their bankruptcy.

Financial peace isn’t the acquisition of stuff. It’s learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can’t win until you do this. –Dave Ramsey