Yahoo Finance 13 tragic stars who died completely broke
Riches to rags
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These 13 iconic stars once had fame and fortune beyond most people's wildest dreams – yet they were all either completely broke or majorly in debt by the time they died.
For some, the lavish lifestyles and addiction issues that are all too common in the world of celebrity resulted in hefty bills and bank balances left in the red. For others, however, it was simply a case of their star power fading, resulting in work drying up and a dramatic reversal of fortune.
From Elvis Presley to Gary Coleman, read on to find out why these famous faces passed away penniless.
All dollar amounts in US dollars.
Billie Holiday
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Billie Holiday rose to fame in the 1930s, with hits like Strange Fruit, I’ll Be Seeing You, and Gloomy Sunday helping to cement the singer-songwriter's status as an all-time great.
But despite her success, life was far from easy for the tragic jazz musician.
Billie Holiday
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As well as encountering racism in the showbiz industry and dealing with troubled personal relationships, Holiday also struggled with an addiction to alcohol and drugs.
She was 44 years old when she passed away from cirrhosis in 1959 and is reported to have had just 70 cents in her bank account at the time of her death. According to reports, she also had $750 ($8k/£6k today) strapped to her leg.
Her dire finances and estrangement from her husband meant that while thousands of people attended her funeral, which had been paid for by a wealthy fan, Holiday didn't have a tombstone until almost a year after her death.
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Judy Garland
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Judy Garland was just 16 years old when she was cast as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.
Though she'd been performing since childhood, the iconic role catapulted the teen to worldwide stardom and decades of Hollywood success.
She would later land lead roles in movies such as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), A Star is Born (1954), and Judgement in Nuremberg (1961), and she also released several studio albums.
Judy Garland
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Away from the glitz and glamour of her Hollywood lifestyle, however, Garland struggled with addiction and mental health issues. She died from an accidental overdose in 1969, aged 47.
Despite working non-stop since childhood, Garland was around $4 million (around $33m/£26m today) in debt to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the time of her death. The IRS even seized her home shortly after she died.
Veronica Lake
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Veronica Lake was a bona fide Hollywood "It girl" in the 1940s and was as famed for her cascading blonde waves as she was for her prowess in front of the camera.
The screen siren became known for her femme fatale roles, starring in 40s flicks such as This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key.
Veronica Lake
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Sadly, Lake’s time at the top was cut short due to her ongoing struggles with alcoholism and schizophrenia. In 1951, shortly after the IRS had seized their home due to unpaid taxes, she and her then-husband Andre DeToth filed for bankruptcy.
By 1962, it was reported that Lake was earning her living by working as a cocktail waitress in New York City.
The troubled star was just 50 years old and penniless when she died of hepatitis in 1973.
Elvis Presley
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Elvis Presley shot to fame in the mid-1950s, with a long string of smash hits that are still adored by fans to this day.
Presley also launched his movie career around this time, landing lead parts in movies such as Jailhouse Rock (1957) and Blue Hawaii (1961).
It's estimated that the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" earned somewhere between $100 million (£79m) and $1 billion (£787m) over the course of his epic career.
Elvis Presley
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Yet when Elvis Presley died from a heart attack in 1977, aged just 42, he only had $5 million ($25m/£17m in today's money) in the bank.
In fact, he passed away owing double that amount to the IRS in unpaid taxes after years of extravagant spending and drug addiction. As inheritors of the estate, Elvis’s ex-wife Priscilla and his father Vernon were left to foot the enormous tax bill.
Priscilla worked tirelessly to turn the estate around, later transforming Elvis's beloved Graceland home into a major tourist attraction. As a result, the estate was worth an incredible $100 million ($211m/£166m today) by the time it was passed down to the couple's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 1993.
Lisa Marie herself was reportedly $4 million (£3m) in the red at the time of her sudden death in January 2023, with more than half of the debt owed to the IRS.
Marvin Gaye
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Marvin Gaye achieved icon status with smash hits like Let’s Get It On and I Heard It Through The Grapevine.
The so-called "Prince of Soul" released more than 20 studio albums throughout his epic career and is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the Motown music genre.
Despite his legendary reputation, Gaye filed for bankruptcy in 1976 – and things would only get worse.
Marvin Gaye
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In a horrific turn of events, Gaye was murdered by his own father on 1 April 1984, the day before his 45th birthday.
At the time of his death, the singer was $9.2 million (around $27m/£21m today) in debt, which included several million dollars of back taxes owed to the IRS. Depression, two failed marriages, and addiction issues were largely blamed for his money woes.
The only assets he still had were his intellectual properties, such as song royalties, image rights, and life story rights, which he left to his three children – although his debts had to be paid off before his heirs could profit.
Fortunately, savvy marketing of Gaye’s music rights eventually cleared his dues and today his estate is said to be worth a cool $5 million (£4m).
Andy Gibb
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Andy Gibb was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, the siblings who formed the pop group the Bee Gees.
He embarked on a solo career and shot to stardom when his 1978 album Shadow Dancing went multi-platinum, with the title track reaching the top of the charts.
Andy Gibb
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Sadly, Gibb’s promising music career was derailed by depression and addiction.
Gibb checked into a rehab facility in the 1980s in an effort to turn things around, but by 1987 he'd declared bankruptcy.
The following year the tragic star died from a heart condition called myocarditis, believed to have been caused by years of substance abuse. He was just 30 years old.
Sammy Davis Jr.
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Singer, actor, and comedian Sammy Davis Jr. was widely regarded as the most famous African-American entertainer of the 20th century, with his epic career earning him the moniker "Mister Show Business".
His Hollywood highlights include starring in the 1960 Rat Pack movie Ocean's 11 alongside Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, as well as releasing the 1972 smash-hit song The Candy Man, for which he received a Grammy nomination.
Sammy Davis Jr.
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Yet despite raking in millions each year, Davis was flat broke when he passed away from cancer in 1990.
After years of extravagant overspending, he reportedly owed around $7 million ($16m/£13m today) in taxes to the IRS.
Following his death, royalties from Davis's film and TV appearances, as well as from the sales of his records and memorabilia, were paid directly to the IRS until his debts were cleared.
Harry Nilsson
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Singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson achieved fame and fortune with catchy hits such as Jump Into The Fire and Coconut.
At the height of his music career in the late 1960s, Nilsson signed a record deal worth $5 million (around $36m/£28.6m today). It was the biggest recording deal in history at that point in time.
Harry Nilsson
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Tragically, most of Nilsson’s hard-earned fortune was stolen by his former manager Cindy Sims, who was later jailed for swindling millions from multiple clients.
Nilsson, who was born with heart problems, died of heart failure in 1994 when he was 52 years old.
At the time of his death, he had debts of $1 million (around $2.1m/£1.7m today) and his estate was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Michael Jackson
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Michael Jackson is undeniably one of the most successful musicians in history.
Nicknamed the "King of Pop", he's sold around 750 million records worldwide to date, with his 1982 album Thriller the best-selling album of all time.
Between 1985 and 1995, it’s estimated that Jackson earned $50 million to $100 million a year (around $101m-$203m/£79m-£159m in today's money) from touring, record sales, merchandise, and endorsement deals.
Michael Jackson
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Despite his global stardom and staggering earnings, the singer reportedly left behind debts of $500 million (approximately $723m/£566m today) when he died in 2009.
Decades of overspending and over-borrowing – not to mention the hefty upkeep costs of his beloved Neverland Ranch home in California – were said to be the driving factors behind his financial woes.
In 2022, it was reported that Jackson's estate has raked in around $2 billion (£1.6bn) since his death, thanks to to lucrative assets such as his music catalogue and imaging rights.
Corey Haim
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Former child star Corey Haim launched his acting career back in 1981, at the tender age of 10.
In 1987, the teen became a household name after his performance in the classic 80s movie The Lost Boys.
His on-screen success continued into the early 90s, with roles in flicks such as Dream a Little Dream (1989) and Fast Getaway (1994).
Corey Haim
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By the mid-90s, however, Haim's once promising career had started to decline due to his battle with drug addiction.
The actor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1997, listing debts for medical bills and revealing that he owed more than $200,000 ($381k/£299k today) in state and federal taxes.
Haim, who passed away from pneumonia in 2010 at the age of 38, was so destitute at the time of his death that his family had to ask his fans to help cover his funeral costs.
Gary Coleman
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Gary Coleman skyrocketed to fame at the age of 10 when he landed a lead role in sitcom Diff’rent Strokes in 1978.
During the show's eight-season run, he became the highest-paid child star on TV at the time, banking an incredible $70,000 per episode (around $200k/£157k in today’s money).
Coleman continued to enjoy small-screen success throughout the 80s and 90s, making appearances in popular sitcoms such as Married... With Children and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Gary Coleman
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Despite a relatively steady stream of acting gigs, Coleman was hit hard by money problems and, in 1989, he sued his parents and former business manager for mismanagement of his wealth. He was awarded $1.3 million ($3m/£2m today) in 1993, describing the lawsuit as an "enormous burden to me over the past four years".
Despite this payday, Coleman was still forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 1999 after he struggled to find work.
In 2010, at just 42 years old, Coleman died after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Reports suggest that he was worth just $75,000 (£59k) at the time of his death – a far cry from his glory days as the highest-paid child on television.
Whitney Houston
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Aptly nicknamed "the Voice", Whitney Houston is one of the best-selling musicians of all time.
The soulful songstress took the 1980s by storm with hit songs like Greatest Love of All and I Wanna Dance With Somebody, while the 1990s propelled her to new levels of stardom thanks to her leading role in The Bodyguard.
According to the New York Daily News, Houston earned an incredible $100 million (£79m) throughout her career.
Whitney Houston
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However, Houston blew her fortune on an extravagant lifestyle and an addiction to drugs. She died in 2012 at the age of 48, having accidentally drowned in a hotel bathtub.
At the time of her shock death, the troubled star was in major debt and owed her record company around $20 million ($27m/£21m in today's money).
However, Houston's music exploded in popularity in the months following her tragic passing and, as a result, her estate raked in a staggering $40 million ($54m/£42m today), clearing her arrears.
Omar Sharif
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Egyptian movie star Omar Sharif found fame by starring in a string of Hollywood classics such as Lawrence of Arabia (pictured), Doctor Zhivago, and Funny Girl.
His impressive silver-screen career earned him three Golden Globe Awards and an Oscar nomination for his performance in the aforementioned Lawrence of Arabia.
Omar Sharif
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Regarded as one of the best bridge players in the world, Sharif ultimately quit acting to play the card game professionally.
However, the notorious drinker and gambler reportedly lost $1 million (£790k) in a single night while playing roulette and was forced to sell his home. He spent the rest of his life living in hotels.
Sharif died of a heart attack in 2015, aged 83. In a heartwrenching interview shortly before his death, he claimed he was "all alone and completely broke", adding he owned nothing besides some clothes.
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