Bankruptcy Among The Stars

Bankruptcy has become an increasing problem for celebrities and professional players. The reasons that so many celebrities go bankrupt are numerous and range from bad investments to court judgments. For example, the most recent celebrity to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy was Gary Busey. The once famed celebrity filed for bankruptcy when he could not pay his debts that totaled between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Busey only had about $50,000 in assets; therefore he could not pay his lawyers, banks, a hospital, and a storage company. Furthermore, Busey also owed Ms. Carla Loeffler, a woman who sued Busey for tackling her at an airport.

Many National Football League players have also found themselves in the same situation. These professional players often find themselves the victims of bad investments and poor wealth planning. These players often invest in projects, and become the victims of bad luck in their investments. While some players who earn large salaries become the victim of their bad investments, it is more common that players who begin their career earning the minimum salary and spend only a few years in the league become the victims of insolvency. These players only earn about $1.2 million in their short careers, and fail to manage what they earned or had hoped that they would earn more in their career. This predicament, poor financial planning, and living outside their means can leave a player in financial trouble. However, there is a different side. A few players, such as Michael Vick, face financial difficulties because of their ill conceived and criminal behavior. 

See Eamon Murphy, Broke Stars: 11 Celebrities Who Went Bankrupt, DailyFinance, Feb. 25, 2012. See also Chris Chase, Why Do So Many NFL Players Go Bankrupt?, Shutdown Corner, Sept. 11, 2011.