This post is part of our feature on Money Losers of 2008. See all 20.
Nothing gets the juices flowing like tales of celebrities in trouble. It lets people know that people we celebrate have problems just like we do. And when the economy goes sour, they occasionally have trouble paying their mortgages.
Take Wyclef Jean. The rapper/producer took out a $2.1 million mortgage to renovate a Miami Beach mansion. Then, according to media reports, he stopped making payments. Work on the property seems to have stopped midstream, as if the workman walked off the job. The house went up for sale on December 13. I could not tell if the sale occurred.
Other musicians having trouble keeping up with their mortgage payments include Fantasia Barrino, winner of Season 3 of American Idol, and Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul.
TMZ.com reports that Barrino bought the six-bedroom, 6,000-square foot mansion for $1.3 million in 2007. The county will auction the home off on January 12. Even if she loses the house, fans should not fret because she has got another one nearby, TMZ said.
Franklin, one of the legends of pop music, ran into trouble with the tax man in her hometown of Detroit, according to Reuters. Earlier this year, she owed a total of $19,192 in back taxes and fees on the property through 2007. It was not clear if this debt had been settled.
Former baseball player and admitted steroids abuser Jose Canseco walked away from his $2.5 million California home earlier this year, saying it no longer made financial sense to continue to make payments. Former NBA star Lattrell Sprewell faced serious financial problems this year, including foreclosure and repossession of his yacht, as did boxer Evander Hollyfield.
But no celebrity foreclosure case garnered as much sympathy as that of Ed McMahon. The longtime Johnny Carson sidekick was able to stay in his Beverly Hills home after it was purchased by Donald Trump.
The lesson in this for celebrities and regular folks is the same: don't buy what you can't afford.
Be sure to check out more Money Losers of 2008.
Comfort Zone Investing: The unmighty dollar
Five winners of a weak dollar
For a quick-read on the U.S. economy, check the price of gasoline
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-25-2008 @ 10:39PM
Kent said...
I have the impression celebrities spend as if there is no end tomorrow to worry about and live from paycheck to paycheck until their careers run out or succumb to injuries/disabilities...I'd save every dime earned especially when they earn as much as they do. Their lifestyle is different from ours.
12-26-2008 @ 1:00PM
Carol said...
Live within your means and always be grateful for what you have and never complain about what you don't have.
12-26-2008 @ 3:29PM
donotjudge said...
It is written, do not judge others if you are not ready to be judged by others.
My years viewing and admiring Mr. McMahon asking the world to give what they can to help the less fortunate of the world whom is sick standing by the wonderful Mr. Jerry Lewis.
My gratitude is forever with this Ed.
Thank you for helping Donald Trump!
12-27-2008 @ 8:05AM
Lisa said...
I feel no sympathy for anyone mentioned. Whoever wrote this article, first of all needs to know the difference between "tail" and "tale". They have problems like the rest of us? Nyuh, uh. Celebrities are above the law, and frankly, with their misuse of MILLIONS, are a blight upon the economy. They don't care, because everyone LOVES them. NOT!!! I'm surprised at Arefa...she's been around long enough to know better. Feel sympathy for Ed McMahon???
donotjudge...
"My years viewing and admiring Mr. McMahon asking the world to give what they can to help the less fortunate of the world whom is sick standing by the wonderful Mr. Jerry Lewis." ED MCMAHON WAS PAID, HE DIDN'T DO IT OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF HIS HEART...IT WAS A GIG. Get a clue!!!
Are they all ripe for a government bailout too???
12-28-2008 @ 10:05AM
Janice said...
I have a 37 year old son who was diagnosed with a deteriorating bone disease and could not work. It took 1 year to receive disability and during that time, his wife lost her job due to company closure. The little modest home they owned they could no longer afford. (I am a widow, still working and although I assisted them with baby food, food for them, paid what bills I could, I could not make their mortgage payments.) So, they too had to give up their little doll house and move to an attic apartment above his in-laws.
So, Mr. McMahon, worship the ground that Donald Trump walks on, too bad he didn't buy my son's $150,000 house so he could have stayed where he was most comfortable with his illness. You obviously mismanaged or squandered all the millions that you have made in show biz all of your life.
My son mismanaged nor squandered nothing, and didn't know Donald Trump.
Mansions and money aren't everything, health is the most important..unfortunately my son has none of the above.
1-01-2009 @ 9:07PM
Jeff said...
Janice's article was dean on right. I have a difficult time feeling sorry for these ultra-rich celebreties who make thousands of times what the average person makes and squander it. I hope her son and daughter in law end up alright!!!
1-02-2009 @ 5:20AM
Kim said...
the other day I watch MTV Cribs. It showed Fantasia showing off her incredible house and cars. I can only imagine how much she paid for them. I spend only what I can afford, celebs can't do the same ??
1-04-2009 @ 11:26AM
jayejaye3 said...
Thank you Jeff for sending well wishes to my little family. As long as there is breath in me, we can work through it all. Recently losing his mother-in-law and his dad (within 2 months of each other), has really put some added mental stress on their lives. Let these rich celebraties cry over their money, we have "real" life issues to weep over.
Janice