Famous people you never knew went broke

Dylan Snyder
Staff Writer

      Many people have gone through financial troubles at some point in their lives because of poor choices or just loss of job. Handling money is not an easy skill either, and many celebrities go from poor or average to very rich in a short period of time. Everyone has dreams growing up and the less money you have, the more you have to dream about. When people come in to large sums of money through sports, fame, inheritance, or through their own business, they want to make their dreams a reality or want to do too much at one time. The mentality during purchases is that you are only spending a little bit, but before you know it, it all adds up. In many cases of famous actors or athletes, they are only in their late teens or early twenties when they acquire their money. People this young are not able to handle this type of excitement nor mature enough to make reasonable decisions. Some people who have worked their way up and own their own company lose their money in a variety of ways including rises and falls in the market/economy, the business failing, or overspending.

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      An example of an athlete going broke is Vince Young. He was a quarterback out of the university of Texas, and he led them to an upset win in the national championship against the USC trojans. In 2006 he was drafted third overall by the Tennessee Titans in 2006 and was one of the most hyped up quarterback ever. He was predicted to be great, but things did not go as planned as he was traded and released to different teams because of many injuries and not being able to perform well. He is often times listed in sports articles as “draft bust”, meaning he was a player that was very good in college but did not perform in the NFL. Although he earned roughly $265 million in his time in professional sports, he does not have much to show for it. His poor financial decisions led to his money situation. Some of these include taking out a loan for 1.9 million and he was also spotted once spending $5,000 at a Cheesecake factory. He seems to have somewhat recovered from his financial issues and now has a steady job at his alma matter Texas.
      A businessman who has suffered financial troubles is the man himself, Republican candidate Donald Trump. More well-known nowadays for his controversial political views and appearances in the debates, Trump was also a very good businessman. He mainly works in real-estate owning many hotels, casinos, and various businesses. He even owned a professional sports team, The New Jersey Generals of the USFL, which folded after three seasons. Despite all of his successes, he has had to file for bankruptcy; in 1991, 1992, 2004, and 2009. It was not personal bankruptcy, it was cooperate bankruptcy. This means that the company’s debt became unmanageable, and it is necessary to file to prevent further damage. There is also the fact that businesses associated with his name have needed financial assistance four times in the past two decades. Despite all of these issues, Trump has always been able to talk his way into a new deal or situation or find a way to rebound making good money again. If he does not win this election, look to see how it takes a toll on him financially.
      One final example is rapper M.C. Hammer. He has had a pretty successful musical career and is best known for his single “U Can’t Touch This”. It was number one on the charts for weeks and won multiple awards. He earned roughly $30 million in the early 90s.Shortly after acquiring so much success with his hit single, he purchased a $12 million mansion with a paid staff of two-hundred, along with a forty-plus person entourage of servants/workers. “U Can't Touch This” was a great and popular song, but would not be able to keep up with his desired lavish lifestyle. He ended up having to file for bankruptcy in 1996. He has since recovered by continuing his music career, although not making a number one hit, appearing in many commercials, and appearing in many TV shows, including his own A&E reality show called “Hammer time” about his daily family life. Hammer admits his mistakes saying “My priorities were way out of order.”
      These are a few examples of people that had it all one day and were at the top and the next they were broke and struggling to get by. The fame, fortune, and overall attention get to their head, and they started to make irrational decisions spending money in ways that they never thought of before. Sudden, large sums of money were now in their possession but made poor choices. These terrible decisions for people  because they are just starting out  or because many negative things are very likely to happen such as the business failing, sports injury, or being a “one hit wonder”. These people all fell on dark times but found ways to get their career back on track or use their fame or remaining money in other ways to make money. Many athletes and actors also hire financial advisors to manage their money to make sure all their decisions are reasonable and have a lawyer to handle the legal stuff.
      This could even apply to many of us. The only reason these people's financial problems are public is because of how famous they already are. We are human as well as them and a good percent of the population will make poor choices like them. They may do something as drastic as buying a mansion, but many people may buy a  house out of their price range However it is not impossible to fix your debt and poor financial status. If you work hard enough and find ways to earn money and pay off debts you can put yourself back on track and life back together.