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Most bloggers will use celebrities and various other famous people to illustrate that bankruptcy does not always just happen to common people who make very little income, but it can happen to anyone. This blogger offers his opinion of the top five worst bankruptcies ever filed, in descending order.

#5 Worst Bankruptcy Ever Filed

Lydia Harris claimed 50% ownership investment in Death Row Records in a lawsuit in 2006 against co-founder Suge Knight who had a history of trouble with the law. Harris was awarded $107 million by the courts for her 50% stake in Death Row. Knight then filed for bankruptcy protection in the same year, and the bankruptcy court found he had only $11 in his bank accounts. Knight continues to have financial trouble to this day as well as trouble with the law. Whatever happened to Lydia Harris? I don’t know, but my guess is she is no longer investing in record companies.

#4 Worst Bankruptcy Ever Filed

Willie Nelson filed bankruptcy in 1990 after the IRS reportedly handed Willie a bill for $16.7 million for back taxes. The IRS seized most of his assets to help pay those charges. Didn’t Willie know that most IRS back taxes are exempt from bankruptcy discharge? While it is true some back taxes are non-exempt from discharge, the automatic stay ran out of time, and Willie is still hurting from the IRS, some 22 years later.

#3 Worst Bankruptcy Ever Filed

Lawrence Taylor was one of the greatest linebackers to play for in the National Football League, and he was one of the highest paid players in the NFL for 13 seasons. Nearing the end of his career and after, Taylor lost all of his money through the use of illegal drugs, gambling and bad investments. In 1998, Taylor was arrested for failing to pay child support and had to file bankruptcy. Didn’t Taylor know child support is also exempt from bankruptcy discharge? Could investing in a drug rehabilitating program been a better investment than a bankruptcy lawyer?

#2 Worst Bankruptcy Ever Filed

Bud Post was the famous lottery winner who won a national lottery in 1988 worth $16.2 million. Bud then went on a spending spree buying almost anything in sight. Bud filed for bankruptcy protection in 1996, declaring later that winning the lottery had ruined his life. He died in 2006 with no money or possessions. Did filing bankruptcy really help?

#1 Worst Bankruptcy Ever Filed

Mike Tyson was one of the most written about boxers ever. He won the heavyweight boxing title at 20 years old, the youngest ever to do so. It is estimated he won over $300 million dollars in his professional career. Tyson’s lavish lifestyle cost him $400,000 a month during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Tyson filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003 listing debts of $27 million. After living such a lavish and expensive lifestyle and literally biting the ear that feeds you, Tyson gets my vote as the only famous person on this list who understood how to use bankruptcy in a timely manner. He lost my vote when I learned how he came about having to file bankruptcy. It just goes to show me that filing bankruptcy is the right of every American.

Related articles

• Bankruptcy and Questions About Certain Judgment Being Discharged (betterbankruptcy.com)
• Discharge of Debt in Bankruptcy? (betterbankruptcy.com)
• IRS Taxes – Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Requirements & Details (taxdebthelp.com)
• Mythological Chapter 20: Is it Legal? (betterbankruptcy.com)

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Terrell Owens is a famous athlete who set National Football League records and is in the all time top five for several receiving categories, including yards and touchdowns. Now, the famous athlete has recently received news coverage for joining the Texas based team, the Allen Wranglers, of the indoor Football League, of which he is one of the owners.

The most recent news covering the flamboyant star’s life happened just today when Yahoo Sports published a piece about the athlete being desperately close to bankruptcy. According to the article and based on the Owens’ profile in the magazine, Gentlemen’s Quarterly, “at 38 and out of football, he’s lonelier than ever, and running out of money. Owens comes across as wounded, broke and desperate. When people text him to ask where he is, he replies back: I’m in hell.”

Owens story is not unique amongst those who are called a famous athlete despite his having earned over 80 million dollars in his professional career. Consider these professional sports statistics reported from numerous news sources:

• By the time NFL players have been retired for two years, 78% of the former players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.
• Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.
• MLB franchises and its players have been riddled with bankruptcies throughout Major League Baseball’s illustrious history.

There has always been speculation as to why these high dollar franchises and athletes so often go belly up with their high dollar incomes, but for the most part, the players entering the draft get rich quick receiving more money than many of them have ever seen or even heard of in their lives. None are not born with the knowledge of economics, and many do not know how to handle such money. They and their parents often are dependent on total strangers to help them manage the money. Strangers often take full advantage of both athletes and parent’s vulnerability.

Owens shared with the news media the reason he lost all of his millions was because of bad financial advice and poor investments. He admits he was too trusting, and the wrong people he trusted failed in their promises to take care of him financially.

Mismanagement of funds or income is always one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. It doesn’t matter whether you make millions or live off a shoestring. If you cannot manage a budget, make relative safe investments through diversity, and discipline yourself to live within your means, you will eventually and most likely go bankrupt.

To my knowledge up to the date of this posting, Owens has not filed for bankruptcy protection. Instead, he has selected to invest his talents and time in a new business adventure with the Allen Wranglers. I offer Owens my best wishes for success in his new adventure.

All of us who work and seek the American Dream in the United States, in my opinion, have a Constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness as long as they are not breaking any laws.

You are no different than Owens or any other rich and famous person. It is your Constitutional right to file for bankruptcy protection when you go broke, but the knowledge of filing bankruptcy is no more born in us than knowing how to handle our economics. Therefore, you need the advice of a bankruptcy lawyer before you file.