Music stars who have filed for bankruptcy

If you’re dealing with debt, you have probably had this thought: “If only I had more money, all of my debt problems would disappear.” However, as evidenced by the many movie stars, professional athletes and musicians who have filed for bankruptcy, that is not necessarily the case.

Often, debt and bankruptcy are the result of circumstances that are completely out of the debtor’s control. Other times, however, they are the product of excessive spending and poor money management. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be the reason that many of the following legendary music stars have filed for bankruptcy.

In the late 1980s, Jerry Lee Lewis found himself about $3 million in debt and in serious trouble with the IRS. He decided to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy which gave him, according to his manager, “a new lease on life.” Similarly, David Crosby found himself in deep debt in 1984, only with an extra wrinkle: he was headed to prison for a weapons charge. He filed for bankruptcy the next year. When he got out of jail, he refocused on his career, which in turn gave him the income he needed to get his finances back on track.

Bankruptcy was a strategic move for Tom Petty, who filed in order to be released from a recording contract that he felt was not beneficial to his career and finances. He then re-signed with the same recording label, only under better terms. His is an example that many musicians have since followed.

For Marvin Gaye, a divorce was the catalyst for his eventual bankruptcy filing. Owing his ex-wife more than $600,000 in back alimony payments in addition to many other debts, he decided to file for bankruptcy, agreeing to give his wife the royalties to his next album in order to settle his alimony debt.

Source: Bankrate, “6 music legends who filed for bankruptcy,” Larry Getlen