jeudi 22 mai 2014

Bad Celebrity Investments That Make You Go Hmmm

By Cornelius Nunev


Celebs are people, too. They make poor investments and drop cash like everyone else. Here are some bad celeb investments people remember.

How did Mark Twain invest?

A renowned author and humorist who has been called America's first modern celebrity, Mark Twain spent $150,000 to $300,000 (a huge amount of cash back then) over 11 years during the late 19th century on a machine called the Paige Compositor. This was a typesetter that was said to be faster than standard Linotype. Unfortunately, the machine had more than 18,000 parts and needed constant care, so the business perished.

Bad Jay-Z investment

The big investment mistake made by Jay-Z would not entirely end until Dec. 2010 when out-of-court settlements and legal battles finally ended. He bought land to produce a luxury hotel in New York City. The hotel was going to be 150,000 square feet and would be for luxury guests in the Chelsea neighborhood. He started the project in 2007 right before the economic crash. He ended up defaulting on the $52 million loan and shut down the project because of lack of funds. Hotel partners had to give the lender the property back.

Bono

The media and entertainment firm Elevation Partners is really managed by Bono. The website 24/7 Wall Street said that Bono is "The worst investor in America" when he only got a $25 million return on investments in Palm ($460 million) and Forbes, Inc. ($300 million). He was very successful when he invested in BioWare, Pandemic Studios, Yelp and Facebook.

Poor investment by Larry King

A life insurance scam that flipped policies was something King accidently got behind. He made $1.4 million regardless of the belief that he gave up two policies worth $15 million.

Everyone associated with Madoff

More than 200 investors, such as celebs were taken in by Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Madoff is now in jail serving 150 years for 11 federal felonies, while celebs and lower-profile investors are still looking for ways to make up for their sizable financial loss.

Burt Reynolds did not make investments right

The most popular movie star of the 1970s, Burt Reynolds ended up dealing with the urge many celebs face: opening a restaurant chain. The chain was PoFolks, and outlets existed in California, Texas and Florida. By the late 1980s, however, the cupboard was bare and Reynolds was out $15 million. His eventual divorce from Loni Anderson and diminished star power led to a 1996 bankruptcy. Even though he was more than $10 million in debt, bankruptcy court allowed him to keep his $2.5 million mansion and all of his personal property that Anderson hadn't already claimed.

Debbie Reynolds

Classic Hollywood film star and Las Vegas fixture Debbie Reynolds purchased a Vegas casino in 1991. She christened it the Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino but neglected to anticipate just how much trouble the accommodation would have maintaining business because it was located off the strip. A 1997 bankruptcy and sale of the hotel to the World Wrestling Federation in 1998 for $10 million left Reynolds broke and heartbroken. She would experience such grief again in 2010 when her memorabilia museum also went bankrupt, forcing her to sell off the trappings of her film career.




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