What's bigger; Mariah Carey's voice, or Mariah Carey's hair in this picture? Yet another person who seems to have been a natural-born star, we believe that Carey's hair here is all her own - although wearing a huge hairpiece for a yearbook photo would be precisely the sort of larger-than-life behavior we've come to expect from this one-of-a-kind diva. Unbelievably, Carey was subjected to racist bullying when she was growing up, because her father is African-American. We think it's safe to say that she's had the last laugh over the bullies.
Very rarely has there been a pop singer with an octave range as large as Carey's. Whether she's singing one of her more hip-hop influenced songs like 'Honey' or the softer 'Endless Love,' you're never in any doubt about who's singing from the moment she opens her mouth. All of us think about Carey every single Christmas; people will still be singing 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' fifty years from now.
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.