Sorry, Larry King. We hate to do it to you, because you're a TV legend, but you really do look like Mr. Burns from 'The Simpsons.' These days, television is littered with chat shows and talk shows, where famous people come to sit on a sofa and chew the fat with a charismatic host. Most of the people doing that today - from James Corden to Jimmy Kimmel - owe their profession to King, who almost invented the format on 'The Larry King Show' during the 1970s. In truth, he started even longer ago than that - he was already interviewing people on the radio during the 1950s.
Nothing we've ever seen from King suggests that he's anything like as evil as Mr. Burns, the megalomaniac billionaire arch-villain from 'The Simpsons,' and Homer's boss. Burns is a man so wicked that he once tried to block out the sun so he could sell more nuclear energy to Springfield's residents! One thing the two do have in common is their age - they're both octogenarians - so perhaps the dress sense and the matching hairstyles is just the fashionable thing to do when you pass your 80th birthday.
Not all celebrities have fame and fortune, some are just famous – and in a ton of debt. They came from rags to riches, then went back to rags. Whether they’ve filed bankruptcy, ended up in court, or just can’t stop spending, celebrities mismanage their money just like everyone else. They just hide it well.
50 Cent coined the term “wanksta,” then “partied like it was his birthday” until he filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. The rapper was said to be anywhere between $10 million and $50 million in debt. In 2016, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Connecticut approved a plan for the founder of G-Unit to pay his debts back. He was able to get his bankruptcy discharged in February of the following year.
Following a 45-year-long career in Hollywood, acting in more than 70 films, actor Gary Busey found himself in more debt than he was worth. In 2012, it was reported that Busey owed between $500,000 and $1 million worth of debt, but only had $50,000 to his name. The 74-year-old actor owed money to hospitals, banks, the L.A. Waterworks District, and even a storage company. He filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy that same year. Despite his longstanding career in Hollywood, Busey's net worth is now only $500,000.
Burt Reynolds is still worth five million dollars, but his battles with debt date back more than 20 years. Between bad investments and a pricey divorce from actress Loni Anderson, the 1970s superstar had to deal with over $10 million in debt and decided to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1996. While testifying in a 1994 custody hearing, the South Florida native said he spent $40 million getting through his divorce.
The former Hollywood bad boy, Charlie Sheen owes the IRS nearly $5 million. But that's not all. In 2016, his net worth was reportedly still as high as $150 million, but he was nonetheless $12 million in debt at the time – including mortgages, legal fees, and taxes. That same year, Debt.com reported Sheen owed nearly $300,000 on an American Express card alone.