When you think of someone in Hollywood, the first thing you think of is fame and fortune. Imagine how great their lives must be! The houses, the clothes, the cars, the gadgets. It sounds perfect.
But there are some celebrities who don't live that life of luxury anymore. They've gone from the top of the world to scraping the bottom of the barrel.
These are some celebrities who went from riches to rags, the opposite of what we want to happen.
1. Brett Butler
From the hit show Grace Under Fire, Butler revealed she is now living in a homeless shelter and trying to make a comeback.
"I was dying of addiction," she says. "I don't think about what I survived. I hope I forgive, I hope I'm forgiven and I'm just really glad that I think things are funny and there's no end to that."
2. Fantasia Barrino
The American Idol season 3 winner was at the risk of losing her home in 2009, when she defaulted on the $1.1 million loan she took out to pay for it. The house was set to be auctioned off, but her lawyers were able to reach an agreement before the auction took place.
3. Nicolas Cage
In 2009, Cage declared bankruptcy. He spent $276,000 on a 67-million-year-old dinosaur skull, which probably had a lot to do with it.
4. Dave Foley
The NewsRadio and Kids In The Hall never made any bad financial decisions, unless you count getting married. In 1997, Foley divorced his wife. He was earning approximately $1 million a year, so the judge ordered him to pay $17,000 a month in child support for their two children. Foley's show ended up getting cancelled in 1999, but the judge ordered him to continue paying the high child support amount despite the Canadian actor making significantly less money (he currently earns $4,000 a month.) Because he couldn't make the payments, Foley was considered a criminal when he would try to return to his homeland of Canada. Foley's current net worth is negative $500,000.
5. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt
The reality TV stars, known by their couple name Speidi, racked up almost $10 million thanks to their roles on The Hills. However, thanks to their belief that an asteroid was going to hit the earth in December of 2012, Speidi spent their fortune on whatever they wanted to because they legitimately thought they were going to die anyway. Spoiler: they did not, and they now have no money.
6. Thomas Jefferson
The former President of the United States developed an expensive wine habit while living in France. When he returned to America, Jefferson was now a wine snob. He imported the most expensive bottles (he refused to buy barrels for fear someone would water it down) and ended up costing $48,000, which is the equivalent of $1,000,000 today. Jefferson died $100,000 in debt.
7. Ed McMahon
He may have given away millions of dollars, but McMahon had some deep financial troubles. In 2008, he was chased for the $644,000 he owed on a $4.8 million house loan. Larry King asked McMahon how he managed to go broke, and the TV personality had a great answer.
"Well, if you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. A couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. You want everything to be perfect, but that combination of the economy, I have a little injury, I have a situation. And it all came together."
8. M.C. Hammer
As it turns out, the bank can touch this. In 1990, Hammer was worth an estimated $33 million. 6 years later he filed for Chapter 11 protection, after spending $20 million on a custom mansion.
9. Kim Basinger
In 1993, Basinger had to file for bankruptcy after losing a lawsuit to Main Line Pictures. The actress had to pay $8.1 million to the company after backing out of the film Boxing Helena. She also had to sell out on her $20 million investment in the town of Braselton, Georgia.
10. Mike Tyson
Over the course of 20 years, the boxing legend earned an estimated $400 million. Instead of being fiscally responsible, Tyson decided to spend his money on things like Bengal tigers, a $2 million bathtub and millions of dollars of jewelry. And that wonderful face tattoo of course. Tyson, at one point, was $23 million in debt. As of 2017 he says he's completely paid off what he owes and is financially stable again.
