When you think of celebrities that have blown through their hard-earned fortunes, does Nicholas Cage come to mind? Of course, he does! How could he not, when the man reduced his $150 million net worth to almost nothing by being ridiculously extravagant?
And when we say ridiculous, we mean spending on stuff such as tombs (who buys a tomb?), a dinosaur skull for $276,000, $150,000 on a comic book (just one, not a collection), pygmy heads, and not forgetting the numerous parties he used to host.
All Expenses Covered
Guess what? Cage would fly his guests to his various party destinations, all expenses on him. If you were invited, would you miss it for the world? Highly doubtful! The flights alone would make some dent in his bank account, and that’s even before considering what he spent on the actual parties themselves.
To the actor’s credit, he did invest in real estate, although you wouldn’t label his moves smart investments. Owning 15 homes around the world, there was this English castle he acquired for $8 million.
He proceeded to renovate it, spending millions while at it, and surprisingly, never spent a night in the residence. There were also other reports that he actually spent $10 million for the castle.
What of his Bahamas island? The private 40-acre piece of prime land set him back $7 million, and the once upon a time Hollywood’s highest-earning actor admitted to the NYT that it was actually his real estate exploits that consumed most of his cash, as opposed to his other “peculiar” acquisitions.
Did you know that he owned an octopus? In this recent interview, he revealed that it actually didn’t cost him as much and that it could hardly be the reason why he went broke. Breaking down his residence buying spree, the actor revealed that he wasn’t driven by any motivation to own numerous properties around the globe.
Quest for the Holy Grail
Instead, he was in what he described as a quest for the holy grail. For those of you who don’t know about this, Nicholas Cage was actually deep into the mythology and the supernatural. His purchases, therefore, were aligned with his beliefs.
Explaining his whole thought process, he likened his purchases to reading a book, wherein you find a reference to another one, and you end up buying the second one too. Such was the case for him and his houses.
Given that he actually spent $3.4 million to purchase the New Orleans LaLaurie mansion, one of the most haunted houses in the States, his explanation certainly holds water, doesn’t it?
By 2009, Cage had outdone himself (in the negative, unfortunately), and was knee-deep in debt. For starters, he owed back taxes to the tune of $13 million to the IRS, and he wasn’t earning as much as he was spending.
So what to do? Sell these pieces of property most definitely. And when you find yourself backed against the wall, you sometimes have no alternative but to sell at a loss, no?
All the same, Cage is now a man re-inventing himself, currently with a $25 million net worth. If he has learned anything from his past mistakes, he will guard this fortune with his life.