Celebrities may seem to have it all, but they sure know how to blow it all too. From owning pet tigers and helicopters to buying an entire town here are two handfuls of stars that managed to foolishly squander their earnings, and then some.They may not have had to figure out how to get a government grant, but some had to seriously alter their lifestyles while others actually died penniless.

Willie Nelson

 

Willie Nelson owed the IRS $16.7 million in 1990. In order to get on the road again, he released the album The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories. All proceeds went to paying off his debt to the government.

Mike Tyson

 

Tyson had earned over $300 million during his career as a boxer but jewelry, mansions, cars, limousines, cellphones, parties, clothing, motorcycles and Siberian tigers eventually caught up to him. In 2003 he had to file for bankruptcy, thanks to a colourful variety of debts including $13.4 million to the IRS and a $9 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife, Monica Turner. From 1995 to 1997, he spent $9 million in legal fees, $230,000 on pagers and cellphones, and $410,000 on a birthday party. In June 2002, he owed $8,100 to care for his tigers and $65,000 for limos.

Kim Basinger

 

Basinger was one of Hollywood’s highest earners in the late ’80s, so she decided to buy the entire town of Braselton, Georgia for $20 million. Braselton didn’t turn out to be the fruitful tourist attraction she had been hoping for and in 1993 she made yet another foolish move and was sued for backing out of a film she had agreed to star in- a controversial movie called Boxing Helena about a surgeon who kidnaps and amputates the limbs of the woman he is obsessed with- just four weeks before shooting. She was forced to sell Braselton for just $1 million. Kim was forced to declare herself bankrupt in order to settle the $8 million claim. A costly divorce from first husband, make-up artist Ron Britton, didn’t help matters much either.

Marvin Gaye

 

Besieged by tax problems and drug addictions, the Let’s Get It On singer filed for bankruptcy in 1979 and moved to Hawaii, where he lived in a bread van and began working on his album In Our Lifetime.

Jerry Lee Lewis

 

Goodness Gracious Great Balls Of Fire! In 1975 the IRS took most the Rock n’ Roll legend’s personal property for back taxes. In 1988 he filed for bankruptcy with three million dollars of debts and no assets.

Burt Reynolds

 

Reynolds declared bankruptcy in 1996 with $6.6 million in assets and $11.2 million in debts. He owned mansions, a helicopter, and a lavish Florida ranch. Bad investments in two restaurant chains in the late 80s and 90’s as well as a falling-off in his box-office clout were major factors attributing to the Bandit’s financial bust. In the end, he had to sell his trademark mustache at auction to help pay his bills. Reynolds got to keep his $2.5 million Florida estate however, a shining example of how bankruptcy proceedings go too easy on the wealthy.

MC Hammer

 

It seems the Hammer did have to prey just to make it today after amassing debts of $13 million and filing for bankruptcy in 1996. Some of his expenses included his modest California home – complete with two pools, cinema, tennis courts and 17-car garage. He also bought a helicopter, several racehorses, and a sound system that required 22 miles of wiring. Not to mention the solid gold chains for his four pet Rottweilers.

Hammer now juggles several careers as a rapper, TV presenter and preacher to support his family of six.

Gary Coleman

 

The once-beloved, highest paid TV child actor from Diff’rent Strokes filed bankruptcy in 1999 citing $72,000 in personal debts. Times were tough for Coleman and perhaps it was the financial stress that led him to punch a woman while working as a security guard. In order to dig himself out of his financial hole, he became the beneficiary of an Internet charity that auctioned off items such as his spatula, sofa, purple bowling ball, size 4 1/2 bowling shoes and his self-described yellow pinstriped “pimp suit”. He even held a contest in which the grand prize was a Christmas shopping spree — with Coleman serving as the winner’s “shopping elf.”

Judy Garland

 

A combination of tax debts – she owed several hundred thousand dollars to the IRS– and the demise of The Judy Garland Show, left the singer struggling financially. She died of an accidental drug overdose in 1969 at the age of 47.

Michael Jackson

 

On his death in June, it was reported that Michael Jackson was in $400 million worth of debt. A Neverland Ranch to maintain, the singer spent $35 million improving the property, which featured two railway lines, two helicopter pads, its own fire department, a zoo and a plethora of amusement park-style rides. Seventy-five cars, lavish gifts such as the $637,000 necklace he bought Elizabeth Taylor made for some of his outrageous expenses. He was also reported as having spent $25,600 a month on ‘medical needs’.

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During a recession times are tough, for the majority of the population. However, some people fare better than others due to the nature of their employment. Most millionaires can keep their heads above water but what about the “regular Joe’s”? There are certain professions and small businesses that need not worry about begging for a loan from small business loans Canada, that naturally perform better than others when the economy takes a turn for the worse. Here is a list of some of these recession-proof businesses.

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It’s the 21st century and banks and credit cards are a fact of life; they manage our economies, set our credit ratings, hold our money, and back our mortgages. If you’re a start-up, you may even get funding from the banks! But just because you can’t get away from them, doesn’t mean you have to like them. Banks and credit card companies are financial institutions and their number one prerogative is to make money, often at your expense. Sure, we know that the interest they charge us is way higher than the interest we get from them, but there a lot of things that these businesses do to make a profit from us that we just don’t notice. Read the rest of this entry »

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They say that job searching is a job in itself. You need to familiarize yourself with the position you’re applying for, and you need to demonstrate that your specific skill set and job experience can benefit the company you’ve got your little unemployed heart set on. Your resume needs to encapsulate all this in two pages or less. It needs to grab potential employers by the face and say “Hey! I’m the one you’ve been looking for.” Whether you’re applying for a particular position or hoping to acquire a job creation grant, versatility is everything in today’s shaky economy, and the following is an example of the tough competition you’ll be up against out there.

Peter Löwenbräu Griffin

31 Spooner Street
Quahog, Rhode Island

 Recent Work Experience

Towel Boy

Duties included: Heh heh heh heh…..duties…..heh heh heh heh….diarrhea.

Happy Go-Lucky Toy Factory

Duties included: Toy safety inspector. After successful employee appraisal, was promoted to head of toy development until my boss died from dinner roll asphyxiation. I employed skills of concealment by cramming his lifeless body into the toilet with a plunger when I thought that Random Dead Body Inspectors were at the door. Turned out to be Death messing with me.

Bathroom Attendant

Duties included: Providing lavatory services to patrons. Broke every bone in my face when I collapsed from “blow drying” a man’s shirt.

Transvestite Prostitute

Duties included: Looking drop dead sexy while turning tricks with friends and/or family members for cash.

Renaissance Fair Jouster

Duties included: While riding on horseback and wearing a complete suit of armor, I would gallop towards my opponents while pointing my giant lance at them. With the help of my Jewish friend Mort Goldman I defeated my hero-turned nemesis The Black Night. This allowed me to demonstrate my competitiveness, my horseback riding skills, my lance-pointing skills, and my abilities as a team player. I get along with Jews.

Fisherman

Duties included: Fishing, drinking beer, and the navigation of a fishing boat. I don’t get along with the Portuguese.

Sneeze Guard

Duties included: Protecting buffet food from projectile face liquids by any means necessary.

 ”Take that sneeze outside lady!”

Mayor of Post Nuclear Apocalypse Town

Duties included:  Exploiting the abundant resources of an abandoned Twinkie factory to build a post-apocalyptic town. The naming of aforementioned post-apocalyptic town. I called it New Quahog. You know, ‘cause our old town was called Quahog. The development and implementation of new employment programs called “picking a job out of the hat”.  Unfortunately I was kicked out of my own town when I used all the metal from the irrigation system to make guns…lots of guns.

Pawtucket Brewery

Duties included: Drinking myself into oblivion. Getting demoted to the shipping department. Working for a boss with special needs.

Death

Duties included:Filling in for injured Grim Reaper. Was supposed to bring the sweet kiss of death to the cast of Dawson’s Creek, but ended up killing two commercial airline pilots instead.

Green Guy in Tron

Duties included: Outracing the Yellow Guy

Ballpark Butt Scratcher Vendor

Duties included: Selling butt scratchers to sports fans with itchy bums.

I also have experience as a bartender; a ghostbuster; restaurant owner; Cocoa Puffs mascot; doctor;  construction worker; and as a fast food technician.

Communication Skills

I am creatively versatile as I have worked as: a television producer, as well as a theater producer where I directed my own adaptation of  The King and I; a Channel 5 News special reporter; erotic book author; Calvin Klein model; I painted the Sistine Chapel and I was the conductor of the Sand People Choir.

I have also worked in a professional capacity with celebrities when I was George Harrison’s security guard, Christina Aguilera’s manager, Sandy Duncan’s glass eye and Kevin Federline’s magic mirror.

Special Interests

You will also discover that despite the fact that my obesity causes my genitalia to disappear when I’m naked, I’m extremely athletic.  I’ve was the center for the New England Patriots, I was also a sumo wrestler and a synchronized swimmer. I am a highly trained martial arts expert, who has been in an ongoing battle with my arch nemesis, the Giant Chicken.

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If you’re never too old to follow your dreams, then you are never too young to get them underway. While some kids are out scraping their knees and playing in dirt, others are dutifully honing their business skills, devising innovative ways to monetize on their ideas either all on their own or through government grants for entrepreneurs. Here are 10 inspiring stories of exceptional child entrepreneurs and their path to success.

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