As we see the nation crawl out of the dark years of its housing bust, spearheaded by up to 20% appreciation in some formerly distressed markets like Phoenix, Arizona and Sacramento, California, we reflect on those who were less fortunate, who faced dire financial troubles and lost their humble homes to foreclosure. I’m talking about celebrities, of course!
Believe it or not, those rich and privileged multi millionaire singers, actors, and celebrities regularly lose homes to foreclosure, just like the rest of us. From 2007 through 2011 foreclosure activity on homes worth more than a $1 million increased 489%, compared to a 105% increase on properties under $1 million. Darin Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, notes “We are seeing foreclosure activity on higher-end homes increase at a faster pace for the past two years.”
More than 4 million homes have been foreclosed on in the past five years, so which celebrities have been eaten their financial humble pie and been displaced from house and home? Here’s a list, in no particular order:
Courtney Love, rebellious rocker wife to murdered Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, lost the house he’d purchased inherited once he died. Courtney failed to pay the mortgage and the bank slated the house for public auction in 2005.
Chris Tucker, the hilarious star of Rush Hour and Friday, was served foreclosure papers by Sun Trust Bank on his 10,000 square foot mansion in Lake County, Florida. Purchased in 2007 for $6 million, he was able to sell it in a short sale early in 2012 for $1.7 million. It’s reported that he also owes $11.5 million to the IRS in back taxes! Ouch!
Burt Reynolds, the rough and tumble bad boy from Smokey and the Bandit, was handed foreclosure papers by Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. on his waterfront mansion in Florida. It was leaked that Reynolds hadn’t paid his whopping $1.2 million mortgage payment since September of 2010. If that sounds good to you, it’s listed as a short sale for only $5 million.
Evander Holyfied, the mercurial and timeless boxer and former heavyweight champion, he of 1 ½ ears thanks to Mike Tyson, hit the financial skids thanks to failed business investments, two divorces, and six-figure yearly child support payments. He lost his 54,000 square foot mansion to JPMorgan Chase in 2012 for only $7.5 million, after owing $14 million on it. The mega-estate in Fairburn, Georgia holds 109 room, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and costs $1 million a year to upkeep.
Rhianna, the pop super star who ranks on Forbes’ Celebrity 100 with $53 in gross annual earnings, lost her Beverly Hills home through short sale. She purchased the house for $6.9 million in 2009 but was swirled in litigation after Rhianna sued the builder since faulty construction resulted in extensive water damage.
R. Kelly‘s Olympia Fields, Illinois home was bought by JPMorgan Chase for only $950k after foreclosure proceedings, though he’d paid nearly $5 million for it.
Tony Braxton lost her $2 million home in Duluth, Minnesota when she filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
Nadya Suleman, better known as “Octomom,” gave her house back to the bank after it went to a foreclosure auction but had no bidders. Maybe it didn’t sell because every single room was a nursery?
Nicholas Cage had to auction off his French Quarter and Garden District homes in New Orleans in 2010 in a sheriff’s sale. He then lost his Las Vegas home to the bank, sold his New York apartment, and his Rhode Island home was on the market. Hey Nic – how many homes do you really need?
Warren Sapp, the NFL hall of famer and analyst, lost his Florida mansion in a 2010 auction.
Lenny Dykstra, the former Philadelphia Phillies and NY Mets baseball star, lost the mansion in 2010 that he’d originally bought from Wayne Gretzky. It was listed for $14.9 million in at a trustee sale.
Plaxico Burress lost his Lightpoint, Florida home that be purchased for $4 million in 2005 while he was serving his prison sentence for shooting himself in the leg. Tough year, Plax – let’s hope this one is better.
Victoria Gotti, ALLEGED daughter of ALLEGED mobster John Gotti and television star of the ALLEGEDLY entertaining show, Growing Up Gotti, foreclosed on her mansion in Old Westbury, New York after she owed $650,000 in back mortgage payments. It was reported that she was trying to work out a deal with the government to use money from properties sold by her ex-husband, Carmine Agnello, to pay off those debts and keep the house. Apparently the Gotti’s are very good at cutting deals with the government.
Allen Iverson, former NBA all-star point guard, foreclosed on his mansion in 2012, purchased in 2010 for $4.5 million. Iverson’s financial problems have been well documented, where he earned over $200 million in his NBA career but is now insolvent, deep in debt, and without assets or income because he refused to sign a contract with a NBA team if he wasn’t going to be a starter.
Stephen Baldwin, B-list actor who now appears on every celebrity reality show ever made, went bankrupt and foreclosed on a family property. Apparently Stephen tried to confuse the bank because all of the Baldwin brothers look the same.
Nas, the old-school rap icon, foreclosed on his two-bedroom, three-bath Georgia home. He originally paid $585,000 but SunTrust Bank sold it for $348,000.
Terrell Owens foreclosed on five homes all around the country due to the fall-off of his star-studded NFL career. He lost four condos to the bank just in the Dallas area, some of them bought in for multi millions in luxury projects like the Trump Tower.
Michael Vick lost his Atlanta mansion to a foreclosure auction after he was indicted for dogfighting charges and sent to prison. Vick has since served his time, turned over a new leaf, and is once again a productive member of the NFL – and society.
Ed McMahon, the legendary “chuckle man” to Johnny Carson, in 2008 defaulted on a $4.8 million bank loan on his Hollywood mansion. After a whirlwind of sympathy and press coverage, Donald Trump bought the first loan from the bank in an attempt to save the house for McMahon, who since has passed.
American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino foreclosed on her Charlotte, North Carolina home and was in danger or having it auctioned off to pay a previous loan used to pay her taxes. But Fantasia managed to work a deal to get everyone paid up and saved her home.
Scott Storch, music producer who was once worth $70 million after producing albums by Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, and others, lost his home on Miami’s Palm Island when he defaulted on the property and then filed bankruptcy.
Jose Canseco, baseball bad boy and whistle blower on steroid scandal, abandoned his $2.5 million Los Angeles home. He attributes throwing up the financial white flag to multiple divorces and the fact that the home was "basically owned by someone else." Ummm, yeah…that’s usually how a home loan works, Jose.
Latrell Sprewell, the NBA high-flyer who once choked his coach, used to make upwards of $14.6 million a year, faced foreclosure on his River Hills, Wisconsin home (but since settled the debt), his Purchase, New York home, and his 70-foot yacht, which was repossessed.
Before his untimely death, Michael Jackson was in foreclosure on a $21 million loan on his Neverland Ranch, but managed to make a private deal that kept the home from being auctioned off, but renamed it the Sycamore Valley Ranch.
Donald Trump may be the shwoosh-haired, paper-shallow icon for wealth in this country, but he achieved that with a simple, two-part formula: 1) inherit a lot from your hard-working father, and 2) make the bank your business partner in every endeavor. When the project makes money, you profit. When the project loses money, the bank suffers and you walk away. Trump regularly forecloses, defaults, and renegotiates his real estate deals as a standard business practice, just like he vaulted his fortune by buying distressed New York commercial real estate.
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