Jose Canseco, Latrell Sprewell, Evander Holyfield: Other Celebrities Caught in the Mortgage Crisis
In an interview on Inside Edition, Canseco said he opted to walk away from the mortgage on his 7300 sq. ft. mansion in Encino, California, because it did not make financial sense to keep paying for a home that basically belonged to some one else. According to Canseco after he finished paying taxes and supporting his whole family there wasn't much of the millions he'd made left. In addition, he cited his two divorces which cost about $7 or $8 million dollars. According to the Associated Press, while Canseco acknowledges that he chose to walk away from the mortgage. He admits he has options to recoup his fortunes. He has written two books, on drug use in baseball, that are being optioned by Hollywood studios. Canseco and his attorney failed to respond to calls from the Associated Press
Evander Holyfield whose moniker when he was in the fight game was the "Real Deal", appears to be in real financial trouble these days. According to BusinessWeek.com his Atlanta estate, which is valued at $10 million dollars is being foreclosed on. The sprawling estate features a 54,000 thousand sq. ft. home which boasts 109 rooms, 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley. Besides his mortgage woes, Holyfield who has at least nine children has been unable to make his child support payments and the mothers have gone to court to seek restitution. Add to that a $550,000 lawsuit filed in Utah; by a company that says that Holyfield defaulted on the loans that were taken out to cover landscaping on the 235-acre property. Holyfield nor his lawyer responded to requests for interviews by the Associated Press. Holyfield's estate is set to sell at auctin on July 1, 2008.
Luke Mullins of the "Home Front" a US News & World Report Online blog, reports that Latrell Sprewell owed some $320,000 on his River Hills, Wisconsin home. The home is valued at over a half million dollars. It was reported on the foreclosure.com blog that Sprewell failed to show up in court to contest the foreclosure. Sprewell is probably best known for trying to choke his former coach, PJ Carlesimo. It seems that perhaps another bone head move may have landed him in the mortgage hot seat. Rather than accept a $21 million dollar contract extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sprewell opted to leave basketball altogether. I addition to the foreclosure, Sprewell owes $72,000 in back taxes and a $1.5 million dollar yacht that he owned has been repossessed and sold at auction for $865,000.
Larry King asked Ed McMahon what happened and he answered that yes he was making a lot of money but he was spending more than he was making. He too cited divorce as a factor in his current financial landscape. He indicated that he pays one of his ex-wives $50,000 in alimony. These men have made millions in their careers and yet they for whatever reason find themselves unable to meet all of their financial obligations. This just goes to show that celebrity and money does not guarantee that one won't run into financial troubles.
Published by Demetria Dixon
I am a stand up comedian and a writer. I have committed myself to this path and opened myself to the future. I plan to eat, sleep, breath and be it. View profile
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17 Comments
Post a CommentThank you 3 and Greg for stopping by to read my piece. 3 thank you for your compliment. Greg thanks for dropping that simple but profund concept. Sometimes the best stuff is the most simple stuff.
Great reporting on this very well spoken!!!!!!!!
It is no use trying to make the extra buck if you don't know how to manage the buck you have.
Thanks for dropping by Jasmine. It is a sign of the times
You know times are getting hard when the rich and famous are struggling. Great article..
Thank you, Saikat, for stopping by and reading my article. I appreciate it so much.
Very informative !
I'm not condoning it, I jsut understand how it can happen.
Nikki, I understand your comment, but it's like anything. If you've never had anything and then you have access to all you want, you don't stop to think if the biscuit wheels are ever going to run off your gravy train and so you fail to plan. Also there are people who don't know how to manage money. It's the same reason that some lottery winners go broke, they simply don't have the tools are people around them who want to stop sopping the gravy to tell them the wheels are back in the next county. People with money need good financial manager because they may not have the skills necessary to manage.
i don't feel sorry for these rich folks - they should have spent their money wisely. they could have "made do" with a normal priced and sized home and stuck a wad of money in the bank for hard times. On a basic human level I'm sorry that America is in such a bad economic state that they are feeling the pinch like the rest of us - but come on - did they really need a $10 million dollar sprawling estate that features a 54,000 thousand sq. ft. home which boasts 109 rooms, 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley. Just b/c you have the money to buy it doesn't mean you need to spend it :D