Stars who blew their fortunes and sold off property empires
Hollywood’s elite have a history of blowing enormous fortunes on extravagant properties and outrageous purchases.
While some celebrities have managed to claw their way back from the brink of financial ruin, others have seen their fortune crumble amid scandal and spiralling debt.
Here’s a look at the stars who squandered their wealth on lavish spending and experienced huge property portfolio setbacks as a result.
Nicolas Cage
Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage owned 15 luxury properties at the height of his fame before losing it all thanks to eccentric purchases that pushed him towards bankruptcy.
His portfolio boasted a $34.2 million waterfront home in Newport Beach, California, as well as a $21.6 million countryside estate in Newport, Rhode Island, and an $11.6 million estate in Las Vegas.
On top of that, he’s got two private islands in the Bahamas. He paid a whopping $9.61 million for a sprawling 40-acre island south of Nassau.
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Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage owned 15 luxury properties at the height of his fame. Picture: JC Olivera/Getty Images
$21 million on castles
Cage bought two castles in Europe for $10.9m each. He went on to spend an extra few million on having both castles remodelled and spruced up.
The first was an 11th-century Bavarian castle in Etzelwang, Germany, and his second was in Bath, which led him to tasting the waters of the Chalice Well in Glastonbury.
His quest eventually led him to explore Rhode Island in the United States.
$4.7 million haunted house
In 2007, in the hope of one day writing a horror novel, Cage splashed out $4.7m on the LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans – believed to be one of the most haunted houses in the world.
The mansion once belonged to serial killer Madame Delphine LaLaurie – whose story was told in one series of American Horror Story.
Between 1787 and 1849, she tortured and murdered countless slaves in her household.
Unfortunately, Cage lost the house – along with another mansion – to foreclosure in 2009, as he owed the Internal Revenue Service $18 million in tax.
And the novel?
“I didn’t get too far,” he told Vanity Fair.
Cage’s Neidstein castle near Etzelwang, southern Germany. Picture: Timm Schamberger/Germany Out
Cage was commanding up to $28 million a movie before his expensive property tastes and other purchases brought his empire crashing down.
His massive $207 million fortune dwindles to nothing after splurges on castles, haunted houses, a $207,000 octopus and a stolen dinosaur skull costing $412,000, The Sun reports.
The Oscar-winner also owned a very extensive vehicle collection, consisting of more than 50 rare cars, 30 motorbikes and four gigantic yachts.
The Face/Off star was essentially broke by the time he hit his forties. He previously blamed his accountants on sending him “down a path toward financial ruin”.
After years of wild spending sprees, Cage owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $18 million in tax. He lost two homes to foreclosure.
Nicolas Cage lost two homes to foreclosure.
Today, the Con Air star is worth $US40 million ($A60 million). Last year, he added a $US10.5 million ($A15.6 million) Malibu beachfront mansion to his property portfolio.
The glass four-level house sits right on the beach, with entry through a private courtyard, or from the two-car garage with its own lift.
The living room has vaulted ceilings, a chic bar area and a fireplace.
Floor-to-ceiling glass walls and sliding doors seamlessly connect indoor and outdoor spaces, such as ocean-facing decks and a rare rooftop space.
On the second level there is a chef’s kitchen with high-end stainless appliances, a centre island, and sweeping ocean views.
The third floor features four bedrooms with ensuites, along with a primary bedroom facing the Pacific Ocean, with a large bath, fireplace, and an ocean-facing deck.
Last year, he added a $US10.5 million Malibu beachfront mansion to his property portfolio. Picture: Realtor
The glass four-level house sits right on the beach. Picture: Realtor
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp reportedly spent $A101 million on maintaining his 14 residences, which include a 45-acre chateau in the South of France, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, multiple houses in Hollywood, several penthouse lofts in downtown Los Angeles, and a horse farm in Kentucky.
Johnny Depp reportedly spent $A101 million on maintaining his 14 residences. Picture: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
Hollywood Hills
Depp’s main Los Angeles residence consists of five adjacent lots, spanning over 2.75 acres.
The primary mansion features eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Among all the houses on the estate, there are believed to be 35-40 bedrooms.
LA penthouses
Johnny previously owned five side-by-side penthouse apartments in a Los Angeles building.
The Ed Wood star bought these penthouses for $US7.2 million ($A10.7 million) between 2007 and 2008. After listing them for $US12.8 million ($A19.1 million) in 2016, he sold them collectively for $US10.9 million ($A16.3 million) in 2017.
While technically five separate units, Depp reportedly treated each apartment as different rooms in a single home, connecting three of the five separate apartments used for entertaining space with doorways.
The actor used the other two units of his property as a guest suite and an art studio.
![Inside Johnny Depp's penthouse collection](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1024 768"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Entrance to Depp’s former LA residences. Picture: James Lang, Berlyn Photography/Partners Trust via TopTenRealEstateDeals
A living area. Picture: James Lang, Berlyn Photography/Partners Trust via TopTenRealEstateDeals
The Oscar-nominee also splurged on an $18 million yacht (which he later sold to J.K. Rowling); a failed record label ($4 million); $150,000 on security; and $300,000 to maintain 40 staff.
Once considered one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors, Depp amassed a staggering net worth of $US650 million ($A900 million) at the peak of his career. However, he has since squandered his entire fortune.
His former business managers claimed Depp blew through about $2 million a month to maintain his lavish lifestyle – including $500,000 in rental fees for storage warehouses, $30,000 for wine and $200,000 for private jets, news.com.au reports.
He forked out $5 million for a cannon to blast the ashes of his late friend Hunter S. Thompson over Aspen, Colorado.
Depp told Rolling Stone magazine that he “had no idea about money or amounts of money”; but most of what was lost was made from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise alone.
The Sleepy Hollow star appears to have bounced back financially, with an estimated net worth of $US150 million ($A225 million).
The Sleepy Hollow star appears to have bounced back financially. Picture: Dave Benett/WireImage
Armie Hammer
Armie Hammer sold the only home he had in his property portfolio just a year before he was broke.
In 2019, the Call Me By Your Name actor and then wife Elizabeth Chambers purchased a home in LA’s Hancock Park neighbourhood for $US4.7 million ($A7 million), Realtor reports.
The pair listed the property in September 2020 for $US5.8 million ($A8.7 million) after they announced their separation. The residence finally sold for $4.7 million in 2021.
The seven-bedroom residence spans 6,275 square feet across three stories on a “prime” Hancock Park cul-de-sac ending in the Wilshire Country Club.
Built in 1927, the home features a number of original elements, including stained-glass windows, hardwood floors, and mouldings.
The gated and hedged property includes an attached garage and carport. Inside, the two-storey entry features a dramatic staircase, a double-height living room with a beamed ceiling, and a fireplace.
Other features include a library, a wood-panelled dining room, a kitchen with a centre island and an adjacent breakfast room, and a family room with glass doors leading to the patio and pool, spa, and waterfall.
Upstairs, the primary suite includes a fireplace, built-in closets, and a sauna along with an en suite bath.
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Armie Hammer. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
In 2019, the Call Me By Your Name actor and then wife Elizabeth Chambers purchased a home in LA’s Hancock Park neighbourhood for $US4.7 million. Picture: Realtor
Hammer’s illustrious Hollywood career ended after sexual assault allegations left him “broke”.
The Lone Ranger star revealed he experienced an “ego death”, a “career death” and “financial death” after multiple women came forward claiming he was into “cannibalism” and that they’d been sexually abused by him, Fox News reports.
The actor has always denied the claims, alleging all encounters were consensual.
The scandal and allegations hit Hammer’s career hard as he was ousted from Hollywood. He has not been in a film since Death on the Nile, which came out in 2022.
Speaking on the podcast Club Random last year, Hammer told host Bill Maher he is broke and did not receive any money from his family.
“Someone might look at me and go, ‘Yeah, but financially, you’re in a very different position than you’ve ever been in your entire life’,” the actor explained later in the interview.
“And I look at that and I go, ‘Yeah, And you know what it’s taught me is that I don’t need that because I’ve never been happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life’.”
The home features a number of original elements, including stained-glass windows, hardwood floors, and mouldings. Picture: Realtor
The residence finally sold for $4.7 million in 2021. Picture: Realtor
At one point, Hammer reportedly worked in the Cayman Islands as a timeshare salesman. He now has a net worth of $US10,000 ($A15,000), according to Page Six.
Not only was he once hailed as one of Hollywood’s brightest rising stars, the Social Network star was also born into a life of wealth and privilege.
Armand Hammer, his great-grandfather, established himself as a billionaire oil tycoon in the 1950s with Occidental Petroleum. He was believed to have been worth about $US800 million ($1.2 billion) at the time of his death in 1990.
Hammer’s late father, Michael, was reported to have inherited around $180 million ($A271 million) of that fortune.
At one point, Hammer reportedly worked in the Cayman Islands as a timeshare salesman. Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Al Pacino
Al Pacino sold one of his homes after finding himself broke again in 2011, having lost his entire fortune at the hands of a corrupt accountant.
“I had fifty million dollars, and then I had nothing,” he wrote.
“I had property but I didn’t have any money … The kind of money I was spending and where it was going was just a crazy montage of loss.”
Over the years, The Godfather star has amassed an impressive property portfolio.
He owns an estate in Beverly Hills, California, which has become one of his most iconic residences.
Purchased in 2015 for $US35 million ($A52 million), the mansion features panoramic city views and is set within lush gardens.
Al Pacino sold one of his homes after finding himself broke again in 2011. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Pacino also owns multiple properties in New York City, including a penthouse in Manhattan.
The Frankie and Johnny actor first discovered that he was broke in the 1980s. At the time, his career slowed down and he only made five films during the decade.
“I had about ninety grand in the bank and that was it,” he wrote in his memoir, Sonny Boy.
“I had my home in the country, which I didn’t want to give up. I was spending and not earning; I was putting out but I wasn’t bringing in.”
Pacino’s then-girlfriend Diane Keaton encouraged him to start acting in movies again and his first project was Sea of Love. The 1989 cop thriller was critically acclaimed and a huge hit.
The Bronx-born actor’s career saw a resurgence in the ‘90s, thanks to a string of box office hits and critically acclaimed films.
These days, Pacino has a net worth of $US40 million ($A61 million).
Andy Garcia and Al Pacino on the set of The Godfather: Part III. Picture: Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey was forced to sell his home after being “many millions” of dollars in debt.
At the time, the former House of Cards revealed on Piers Morgan Uncensored that his waterfront residence in Baltimore was being foreclosed as he can no longer pay the bills.
“This week where I have been living in Baltimore is being foreclosed on, and my house is being sold at auction,” an emotional Spacey told the program.
“I’m not sure where I’m going to live now.”
According to Realtor, Spacey purchased the property in 2017 for $US5,650,000. The actor moved there while filming House of Cards. It sold at auction for $US3.24 million ($A4.8 million) in 2024.
The massive, 9000-square-foot (836 sqm) house is a combination of two townhouses and features six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, and three half-baths.
Other details include a chef’s kitchen, home theatre, sauna, billiard room, and elevator. It also boasts multiple decks and a 76-foot (223m) roof deck with a spa. The home comes with a four-car garage.
Actor Kevin Spacey. Picture: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Netflix
When asked if he was facing bankruptcy, Spacey said that he had been close but had “managed to sort of dodge it, at least as of today”.
Questioned how much money he has, the Usual Suspects star – who was reported to have a net worth of around $US70 million ($A105 million) back in 2022 – insisted he had “none. I still owe a lot of legal bills that I have not been able to pay”.
Spacey has denied all allegations against him since they began to arise in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2017.
That same year, the star’s career took a turn when he was taken off the final season of House of Cards and edited out of the film, All the Money in the World.
In 2023, a jury in London found Spacey not guilty of nine charges of sexual assault from four complainants. Several other charges and lawsuits have been dropped.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Spacey is now estimated to be worth negative $US2 million ($A3 million).
Spacey’s former Baltimore home. Picture: Realtor.com
It sold at auction for $US3.24 million ($A4.8 million) in 2024. Picture: Realtor
Mike Tyson
When Mike Tyson blew his estimated $A580 million fortune and filed for bankruptcy in 2003, he was forced to sell up.
With reported debts of about $33m, the boxing legend’s prized home in Connecticut was one of his first possessions to be sacrificed.
Boasting 52 rooms, including 21 bedrooms, as well as its own nightclub the property is as lavish as Tyson has ever owned, The Sun reports.
The sprawling property also comes loaded with over-the-top amenities, including seven kitchens, a casino, and a cigar lounge.
“Iron Mike” bought the estate for $4 million and 18 months later unsuccessfully tried to sell for $32 million. He later sold it to 50 Cent in 2003 for $6.1 million.
According to The Sun, Tyson squandered his money on throwing lavish parties, his car collection and luxury mansions.
Mike Tyson blew his estimated $A580 million fortune and filed for bankruptcy in 2003. Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The boxing legend’s prized home in Connecticut was one of his first possessions to be sacrificed. Picture: Realtor
The “Baddest Man on the Planet” bounced back after his debts. He properly launched his career on screen by playing an altered version of himself in the hit American comedy The Hangover.
And he has since appeared in other titles including Ip Man 3 — and even a 2015 Madonna track.
Tyson has also launched his successful podcast, Hotboxin, as well as collaborating with famous Hollywood director Spike Lee on a touring one-man show.
Alongside business partner Alki David, Tyson has started a cannabis empire that earns a reported $900,000-a-month.
Last year, the 59-year-old reportedly pocketed a $US20 million ($A31.8 million) paycheck to fight Jake Paul.
The sprawling property also comes loaded with over-the-top amenities, including seven kitchens, a casino, and a cigar lounge. Picture: Realtor
Boasting 52 rooms, including 21 bedrooms, as well as its own nightclub the property is as lavish as Tyson has ever owned. Picture: Realtor
Tyson snapped up a $US13 million ($A20.6 million) mega-mansion in Florida earlier this year.
According to Realtor, the sprawling six-bedroom property sits on a 2.7-acre plot in an exclusive gated community called Tierra del Ray Estates.
According to its original description, the home boasts a staggering number of amenities, including a “one-acre private bass pond that is ideal for fishing,” as well as an 80-foot swimming pool and spa, and a separate guesthouse.
The main residence on the sizeable lot features five bedrooms, while the guesthouse adds another to the property’s total.
There is also a newly renovated and airconditioned barn that boasts “impact windows” that are designed to withstand hurricanes.
Other ultraluxe amenities include a home theatre, gym, “haircut lounge”, prep kitchen, wine storage, and four-car “extra deep” garage designed to accommodate car lifts.
Tyson has now cleared his debts, and has a net worth of about $45 million.
Tyson snapped up a $US13 million mega-mansion in Florida. Picture: Supplied
Tyson bought the property after earning a reported $US20 million from Netflix for his now-infamous fight with Jake Paul. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Tori Spelling
Despite her TV success, Tori Spelling’s salary still wasn’t enough to bankroll her flashy lifestyle, which included numerous multimillion-dollar homes.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress and her then-husband Dean McDermott previously owned a $US2.5 million ($A3.7 million) Encino, California mansion in 2007.
The property was featured on their reality TV show Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.
The luxe residence features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a living room, and a dining room.
Tori sold the house in 2011 for $US2.5 million ($A3.7 million).
Tori Spelling. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress and her then-husband Dean McDermott previously owned a $US2.5 million Encino, California mansion in 2007. Picture: Realtor
Tori sold the house in 2011 for $US2.5 million. Picture: Realtor
The former couple later moved into a $US3.7 million ($A5.5 million) Hidden Hills, California mansion with their five children despite their mounting debt, The US Sun reports.
The property boasts five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, private sauna, pool waterfall and more luxurious amenities
The mansion also boasts a gorgeous spiral staircase, dry sauna, wet bar and three-car garage.
The home came after years of financial trouble for the actors. At the time, American Express Bank sued Tori and Dean for failing to pay a credit card bill in January 2016.
The couple was ordered to pay the bank $US88,000 ($A132,000) back in October 2016. Tori later settled her debt.
In 2023, the 90210 alum and her children stayed in a $US100 ($A150)-per-night motel in Los Angeles because of the ongoing Mold issue in their marital home.
The former couple later moved into a $US3.7 million ($A5.5 million) Hidden Hills, California mansion. Picture: CRISNET via The US Sun
The home boasts five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Picture: CRISNET via The US Sun
The reality star also splurged on foreign cars and over-the-top birthday parties and vacations.
“It’s no mystery why I have money problems. I grew up rich beyond anyone’s dreams,” she wrote.
“Even when I try to embrace a simpler lifestyle, I can’t seem to let go of my expensive tastes.”
Despite growing up in an ultra-wealthy family, Tori revealed saving money was never her strength.
The actress lived in a mega-mansion nicknamed “The Manor” with 123 rooms and had 20 staff members who waited on the family during her childhood.
Tori started at six years old and shot to fame as a teenager in 90210 — which her dad Aaron produced.
She admitted in her 2008 memoir, sTori Telling, that she got the role “from my dad”.
Tori went on to explain that even though her father was responsible for her being cast on the show, she became financially independent after she began working.
“I had a hit TV series, so I didn’t really need [my parents] for anything,” she wrote in an excerpt shared by Good Morning America.
TV producer Aaron Spelling and his daughter, actress Tori Spelling. Picture: Vince Bucci/Getty Images
But after the show ended in 2000, “bad shopping habits” contributed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.
When Aaron died in 2006, he left $US800,000 ($A1.2 million) to Tori and her brother Randy, leaving the bulk of his estate, worth an estimated $500 million ($A751 million), to wife Candy Spelling.
In fact, part of the reason she was allegedly given such a small inheritance was because her parents thought she lacked the self-control to manage anything more.
“She would close a store and drop $50,000 to $60,000,” Candy said of her daughter in a 2014 interview with the New York Times.
“I never did anything like that. She just went crazy.”
In January 2023, Radar Online reported that the actress allegedly owed more than $US1.3 million ($A1.9 million) in state and federal tax liens.
Tori’s monthly income was revealed this month in a court filing amid her divorce from her estranged husband, Dean McDermott.
In an income and expense report filed on September 5 in Los Angeles Superior Court obtained by Page Six, McDermott claimed Spelling’s monthly income varies between $US3,000-$US75,00 ($A4,500-$A113,000), “depending on the job”.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Tori is estimated to be worth $US150,000 ($A225,000).
Cast of Beverly Hills 90210 – Jason Priestley, Shannon Doherty, Luke Perry, Gabrielle Carteris, Tori Spelling, Jenny Garth, Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering.
M.C. Hammer
Rapper MC Hammer made $US33 million ($A49 million) in 1991 and quickly blew through it with a sprawling mansion.
The U Can’t Touch This singer, real name Stanley Kirk Burrell, bought the Fremont, California property for $US12 million ($A18 million) and forked out another $30 million ($A45 million) turning it into his dream home, according to the Irish Mirror.
The residence featured a 17-car garage, bowling alley, baseball triangle, recording studio, multiple tennis courts and 2 swimming pools.
The musician also installed gold plated front gates emblazoned with his Hammer Time catch phrase.
MC Hammer made $US33 million ($A49 million) in 1991 and quickly blew through it with a sprawling mansion.
MC Hammer’s former mansion now. Picture: Google Maps
The music star also went on a spending spree, buying more than 17 luxury cars, a private jet, two helicopters and 21 race horses, with some of the animals valued at about $US1 million ($A1.5 million) each.
Rolling Stone reports that by 1996, Hammer was $US14 million ($A21 million) in debt and filed for bankruptcy.
The rapper was forced to sell his dream home for just $US6.5 million ($USA9.7 million) – $US5.5 million ($A8.2 million) less than he originally paid for it.
Hammer explained to the Chicago Tribune why he blew so much cash on his home.
“I did it because I could,” he said.
“Not that I had to live here. But I could.
“Do I have regrets? I’m just not one to do that. Material things have never affected me the way they do other people.
“Some people have a need and a love to make money. My thing is: I have a need to entertain and that makes money.
“I’ll be happy in my next house. I am not defined by the material things around me.”
Hammer’s cars, planes and horses were taken away and he moved to a modest ranch-style house in Tracy, California, with his family. Today, he is worth $US2 million ($A3 million).
Parts of this story first appeared in The Sun, Realtor and Fox News and were republished with permission.
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