Bankruptcy Can Happen To Anyone.

People facing financial difficulties often feel like they are the only ones having financial troubles.
Many feel embarrassed and isolate themselves from their community. Some are reluctant to file
for bankruptcy because they are afraid they will be labeled failures and irresponsible by their
peers. They do not realize that many people, including famous celebrities, have faced similar
financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy to discharge their debts. Below is a list of a few
famous people including artists, athletes, authors, actors and businessmen who filed for
bankruptcy.

Burt Reynolds was $10 million in debt when he filed for bankruptcy after his 1996 divorce. He went on to win a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in the movie Boogie Nights.

 Rembrant went bankrupt in 1665 and his house and collections were auctioned off.  Unfortunately, the money raised wasn't enough to cover his debt so he set up an art-dealing business to keep his creditors at bay.

Mickey Rooney filed for bankruptcy in 1996 because he owed over $1.75 million to the IRS.

Donald Trump: Donald Trump found himself $900 million in debt in 1990 and lost a lot of his business ventures but somehow restructured his debt to be back on top running a billion-dollar empire.

Mark Twain went bankrupt in 1894 thanks to bad investments, especially in new inventions, and his publishing house going under. Twain went on an around-the-world lecture tour to pay of his creditors and did so in full in 1898.

Oscar Wilde, in trouble for “gross indecencies,” was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1895 and lost some of his prized possessions including first editions of his own books. After serving his prison term, his friends helped him to bring his estate out of bankruptcy.

P.T. Barnum is best known for being half of the “Barnum & Bailey Circus” but he actually didn’t get into that until he was 61-years-old. He first opened a museum in New York City showcasing nature’s oddities like Tom Thumb who was only 2 feet 9 inches tall. He also invested in the development of East Bridgeport, Connecticut and went bankrupt when that didn’t work out. He bounced back in four years and got into the circus business.

Toni Braxton sold over 15 million albums in the years leading up to her 1998 filing for bankruptcy and some believe she filed so she could get out of her recording contract with record label LaFace. When she filed, Braxton was $3.9 million in debt and all of her household possessions, including the two Grammys she was awarded in 1997 were priced to sell so she could pay off her creditors. Despite her conflict with her label, she signed a new contract in 1999 worth $25 million with them.

Buffalo Bill organized his “Wild West Show” in the late 1800’s and went on to become quite wealthy. Even though he made millions touring the country, he was also very generous and gave away so much money that he had to file for bankruptcy in 1914. He died bankrupt in 1917 and was buried on Lookout Mountain.

Francis Ford Coppola, responsible for directing the Godfather trilogy and winner of five Academy Awards before he was 40,  was $300,000 in debt before the first Godfather movie came out. He then was able to rebound but began bankruptcy proceedings after his 1982 musical One From The Heart tanked. Luckily, he borrowed the money from his mother to get into the wine business and again turned his financial future around.

Walt Disney’s name is synonymous with Mickey Mouse and the “happiest place on earth,” Disneyland. However, Disney’s career wasn’t always prosperous. In 1921, he began a company called the Laugh-O-Gram Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri but was forced to file for bankruptcy two years later because his financial backers pulled out. It must have been fate because Disney then headed to Hollywood and became one of the highest paid animators in history.

Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, became a partner in a financial firm which went bankrupt. Dying from throat cancer, Grant wrote a memoir to pay off his debts.

Dorothy Hamill was the 1976 National, World and Olympic champion and moved on after that to the Ice Capades. She purchased the struggling company and tried to get it going again but she had to sell in 1995 and filed for bankruptcy herself in 1996.

Milton Hershey founded Hershey’s Foods Corporation in 1903. Hershey dropped out of school after 4th grade, because his family moved around a lot, and got an apprenticeship as a printer. He wasn’t keen on the business and tried his hand at candy. His first four attempts failed and forced him to file for bankruptcy but his fifth resulted in a major corporation that’s doing pretty darn good to this day.

Larry King has interviewed over 30,000 people during his career but his rise to fame for radio work in the 60’s derailed him financially. He was in debt $352,000, charged with grand larceny and accused of stealing $5,000 from a business partner. The charges were dropped but he struggled to get back on his feet and ended up claiming bankruptcy in 1978.

The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, declared bankruptcy in 1833 and spent 17 years of his paying off the money that he borrowed from friends to start his business. It took Lincoln 30 years to achieve his goal of becoming President of the United States.

William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, found himself $130,000 in debt after he co-signed on a loan for a friend and the friend went bankrupt.

Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer, his first two automobile manufacturing companies failed. The first company filed for bankruptcy and the second ended because of a disagreement with his business partner. In June 1903, at the age of 40, he created a third company, the Ford Motor Company with a cash investment of $28,000.00. By July of 1903 the bank balance had dwindled to $223.65, but then Ford sold its first car, and as they say the rest is history.

Johnny Unitas, legendary Hall of Fame football quarterback, was a great athlete but a terrible businessman. Each of his business ventures, including bowling alleys, land deals and restaurants, was unsuccessful. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991.

Willie Nelson declared bankruptcy in 1990 and claimed to owe the IRS $16.7 million. The IRS seized his bank accounts and real estate that he had in six states and in turn Nelson released an album titled “The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?” to pay them what he owed.