How Nicolas Cage wildly blew his entire fortune

The unbearable weight of massive fortune

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As the star of movies like Ghost Rider and National Treasure, Nicolas Cage was once one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, with an enviable $150 million fortune, the equivalent of around $215 million (£170m) in today's money.

However, it all came crashing down in 2009 when Cage found himself on the brink of bankruptcy, owing the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a hefty $14 million in back taxes ($21m/£16m in 2024 money), as well as millions to various other creditors.

So how did the star go from a sizeable fortune to staring at rock bottom in little over a decade? Read on for the shocking story of Nicolas Cage's wild spending.

All dollar amounts in US dollars

One-of-a-kind Lamborghini

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In 1997, Cage spent $450,000 on a red Lamborghini Miura SVJ (pictured). In 2024 money, that's around $880,000 (£694k).

The one-of-a-kind custom car was built in 1971 for the late Shah of Iran, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, and delivered to his St. Moritz ski chalet. When Cage purchased the vehicle, it had fewer than 1,864 miles on the clock and still had its original studded snow tyres for skiing trips.

But that was just the beginning of Cage's car collection...

Flashy car collection

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Much like his character in Gone in 60 Seconds, it appears Cage has a penchant for flashy vehicles. By 2004, he reportedly owned 30 motorcycles and a hoard of other vintage vehicles, including nine Rolls-Royce cars.

Cage's car collection was so valuable that his former business manager claimed in 2009 that he begged the actor to sell some of them to avoid going broke.

Pictured: Cage behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce in Hollywood, circa 2000.

Ultra-rare Superman comic

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It's no secret that Nicolas Cage is a superhero fanatic: he even named his son Kal-El, which is Superman's real name. So it comes as little surprise that Cage splashed out $150,000 on an original edition of the first ever Superman comic in 1997, the equivalent of $296,000 (£233k) in today's money. Only around 100 copies of the ultra-rare Action Comics No.1 (pictured) exist, and Cage's copy is rumoured to be the best preserved.

In an unforeseen turn of events, Cage reported his prized possession stolen in 2000, claiming that an unidentified man had broken into his home and taken it along with other comics from his collection. It remained lost until April 2011, when it was found in a storage locker in California.

The comic was returned to Cage, who sold it for almost $2.2 million at auction, the equivalent of $3.1 million (£2.4m) today. At the time, it set the record for the most expensive comic book ever sold at auction.

Deadly snakes

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When Nicolas Cage bought two albino king cobras for $276,000 in 2005 (the equivalent of $455k/£357k today), he decided not to have their venom removed. Instead, the brave—or perhaps just crazy—star opted to keep anti-venom in his home as a safety precaution. The snakes, which he named Moby and Sheba, were so poisonous that anyone they bit would be dead within 15 minutes.

As a result, Cage kept his dangerous purchase a secret for three years before confessing all on The Late Show with David Letterman. He explained: “I have them behind two computer-locked doors [with] bullet-proof glass. I like to go in there in my red leather chair and drink wine and watch them as they watch me".

However, Cage added that one of the snakes regularly tried to hypnotise him before lunging at him. He told Letterman, "After that, I say, ‘Goodnight kids', go upstairs and lie down and think about what just happened”.

As you'd expect, his neighbours were suitably horrified and threatened to sue him, so Cage surrendered his deadly pets to a zoo.

Two-headed snake

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Cage also previously owned a two-headed snake, which he purchased for $80,000, or around $119,000 (£94k) today. The comic book fanatic aptly named his pet Harvey after Batman villain Harvey Dent, whose alter ego is Two-Face.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog, who directed Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, wanted to feature Harvey in the movie. However, Cage declined, saying the snake was "personal". He explained to Interview Magazine: "He [Werner] filled the movie with snakes, iguanas, and alligators, but he never got my two-headed snake".

In 2008, Cage donated Harvey to a zoo when feeding proved too difficult. In an interview with GQ in March 2022, he revealed that he had to hold a spatula between the two heads to prevent them from fighting over food.

Octopus and other exotic pets

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The eccentric star has a penchant for non-lethal pets too. Most famously, he splurged $150,000 on an octopus in the mid-80s, the equivalent of around $447,000 (£351k) today. He claimed the cephalopod helped him with his acting career, although it's since been suggested that this outlandish claim was a ploy to have the pricey purchase written off as a business expense.

Cage also revealed in a GQ interview that he owns a Maine Coon cat named Merlin, as well as a couple of turtles and a fish. He adopted the animals when the owner of his local pet store died.

Additionally, he owns a talking crow named Huggin. The bird lives in a geodesic dome in his Las Vegas home and insults him—a trait the actor finds "comical".

Private island

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Featuring breathtaking beaches and clear, sparkling waters, Cage snapped up the private Leaf Cay island for a cool $3 million in 2006, or $4.8 million (£3.8m) in 2024 money.

The 15-acre paradise is part of the Exuma island chain in the Bahamas, and Johnny Depp and John Travolta also reportedly own properties in the area.

Cage has since decided to sell his slice of paradise. It hit the market for $7.5 million (£5.9m) in 2022.

Medieval castle in Germany

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Though it sounds like a plot straight out of his hit National Treasure movies, Nicolas Cage actually went on an epic quest to find the Holy Grail – and spent an absolute fortune in the process.

Cage claimed he was inspired to start his search after spending hours each day meditating and reading philosophy. His search led him to Germany in 2006, where he paid $2.3 million ($3.6m/£2.8m today) for the 16th-century Neidstein Castle (pictured).

When his search proved fruitless, he sold the castle in 2009.

18th-century castle in England

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Cage also reportedly spent $10 million ($16m/£13m today) on the 18th-century Midford Castle (pictured) in Bath, England in 2007.

Speaking of his real-life treasure hunt, Cage said in a 2019 interview with The New York Times Magazine: "You read a book, and in it there’s a reference to another book, and then you buy that book, and then you attach the references. For me, it was all about finding the Grail. Was it here? Was it there?"

As you might have guessed, Cage never found the fabled treasure.

Haunted house

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Cage was also once the owner of the infamous LaLaurie Mansion (pictured) in New Orleans, said to be one of the most haunted houses in America. It was previously the home of Madame LaLaurie, a 19th-century socialite and serial killer who was notorious for the torture and murder of enslaved people. Cage purchased the gruesome property for $3.4 million in 2007, the equivalent of $5.3 million (£4.2m) today.

In a 2014 interview with Vanity Fair, the seemingly fearless actor revealed that he bought the house of horrors because he thought it would be "a good place in which to write the great American horror novel".

The book never materialised and neither, apparently, did any ghosts during his time at the property.

Other expensive properties

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European castles and a haunted house are just the start of Cage’s once-sprawling property portfolio; at the height of his spending, he owned a mind-boggling 15 homes. They included a $25 million (£20m) waterfront mansion in Newport Beach, California, a $15 million (£12m) country estate in Rhode Island, and an $8.5 million (£6.7m) Las Vegas residency.

When his money troubles first began, Cage was forced to sell several of his mega-mansions, including the lavish Bel-Air estate he'd purchased in 1998. The sprawling property was built in the 1940s and once belonged to late Hollywood icon Dean Martin.

Boasting six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a theatre, a library, and a wine cellar, Cage listed the impressive property for $35 million in 2010. However, it ultimately sold for just $10.5 million ($15m/£12m today), less than a third of the asking price.

Stolen dinosaur skull

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Cage outbid Leonardo DiCaprio for a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skull in 2007. Reported to be anywhere from 70 million to 96 million years old, the dinosaur skull cost Cage a roarsome $276,000, or around $428,000 (£336k) in today's money.

However, things took a disastrous turn in 2014 when Homeland Security contacted Cage and informed him that the skull might have been stolen from Mongolia and had, therefore, been purchased illegally.

Although he handed it over to the Mongolian government, Cage never got his money back.

Meteorite from Mars

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Owning an ancient dinosaur skull simply wasn’t enough for Cage, who also splurged on a three-million-year-old piece of meteorite from Mars. His out-of-this-world purchase is thought to have cost him a cool $25,000 (£20k), and he even had its authenticity verified by NASA.

Cage isn’t the only celebrity who collects meteorites. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX (and currently the world's richest person), and Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg both share the passion.

Private jet

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At the height of his Hollywood fame, Cage bought a luxurious Gulfstream Jet private plane so he could travel around the world to his various homes and acting gigs in style. It’s estimated to have cost him a mammoth $20 million, or around $30 million (£24m) today.

In 2008, his splashy purchase got him into trouble when he found himself owing $666,000 ($991k/£778k today) to the IRS. Cage had improperly deducted numerous personal expenses, including globe-trotting trips on his jet.

Yacht fleet

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Cage evidently liked to travel the seas in style too, and at one point he owned a fleet of four superyachts.

The jewel of his collection was the Sarita. Boasting 12 master bedrooms, an onboard jacuzzi, and a lower deck open restaurant, the yacht is estimated to have cost him a hefty $20 million. In today's money, that's around $30 million (£24m).

Like many of his other assets, he was eventually forced to sell the yacht to pay his debts.

Nine-foot burial tomb

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In 2020, Cage was spotted in New Orleans with his then-girlfriend Riko Shibata. As New Orleans is famed for its food, you might expect Cage to have whisked his date to one of the city’s acclaimed restaurants. However, a dinner date was apparently too conventional, and he instead opted to take her to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to visit his giant pyramid tomb (pictured). The quirky gesture clearly wasn't a turn-off for Shibata and the couple tied the knot the following year.

Cage had the nine-foot-high tomb constructed in preparation for his demise, and sources claim it cost him between $20,000 (£16k) to $61,000 (£48k).

It's unclear why California-born Cage wanted New Orleans to be his final resting place, although some have speculated that it’s because the 19th-century Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau is buried close by. Sticking with the macabre theme, visitors to Cage's home once claimed that he had shrunken pygmy heads on display.

A debt-free future?

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To Cage’s credit, he's worked tirelessly to pay off his debts. Since his money troubles began, he's starred in over 46 films, many of which were straight-to-DVD or video-on-demand releases. While many of these flicks were flops, the tides appear to be turning for the star, who's in the midst of a major comeback.

His performance in the critically acclaimed 2021 drama Pig garnered him Oscar buzz and earned him a nomination in the Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Meanwhile, in the 2022 comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage may have played his wackiest role yet: himself.

Cage confirmed in his spring 2022 interview with GQ that he has settled his debts. Today he's estimated to be worth around $25 million (£20m).

Now discover the other film and TV stars who spent all their money