From riches to rags: Ex-millionaires share their downfall stories

Reaching millionaire standing is a feat folks dream of reaching.

However sadly, having tens of millions of {dollars} doesn’t imply you’re invincible, as evidenced by redditor u/HypnoticMushrooms, who requested folks to share how they or somebody they knew turned an “ex-millionaire.”

I’m genuinely stunned at how a few of these folks weren’t accountable with their cash.

Listed below are a few of the most insightful tales:

1.”COVID-19. I constructed a enterprise that was given a valuation of some million again in January, however the business went down, and I’m doing all I can now to keep away from chapter.”

2.”I dated a man who unexpectedly inherited $6 million. His mother and father had been killed in a drunk driving accident when he was a child, and so their life insurance coverage and cash from a authorized settlement sat in an account amassing curiosity for 18 years. He received a name from a lawyer on his 18th birthday, and that’s how he came upon about it. He went nuts. Each time I noticed him, he had a brand new automobile. He purchased an extravagant home and insisted on taking these massive holidays. He would go to our native comedian store and purchase EVERYTHING. His spending was a significant factor in why we broke up. It was all an excessive amount of, watching him blow by means of cash like that. He didn’t make investments any of it. He blew by means of all his cash in 5 years. Final I noticed him on Fb, he was destitute.”

—u/moonbunnychan

3.”I constructed a enterprise price round $3 million, had a home price $1.4 million, investments price greater than $2 million, and had 4 good automobiles. Divorce laid me low. An ex-wife, a lawyer, and a choose stripped me of not less than 75% of that. I used to be left with a Miata race automobile, a bit of cash, and 51% of my firm. And I nonetheless needed to pay alimony. I gave up. I negotiated my approach out of alimony by giving up extra of the corporate and liquidating the whole lot else. I purchased a ship and fucked off. 26 months later, I sailed again into my life and began over. I’ve earned sufficient to dwell a modest retirement, and that’s the place I’m immediately. Don’t get married, boys. I’ve accomplished it twice. The primary time was a catastrophe, and the second time was an annoyance. Simply my opinion and expertise.”

4.”A member of the family of mine did very effectively in tech. He was an extremely good physicist however a horrible businessman. He retired, having made his tens of millions, then purchased a stupendous vintage yacht. 10 years later, he’s in debt and has struggled to promote the boat for years. His household is so pissed at him. TL;DR: don’t purchase a ship.”

—u/thetipsykitty

5.”I used to be near being a millionaire after promoting my firm to a much bigger competitor. I reinvested most of it since I didn’t have a lot use for the cash, however then I received scammed for about half 1,000,000 on shopping for some actual property. I principally purchased a incredible vacation vacation spot facility from somebody who didn’t personal stated incredible vacation vacation spot facility. And by ‘purchased,’ I imply that I’d put a considerable down fee to maintain different events at bay. Basic.”

6.”My grandfather died and left the whole lot to my mother. Then, my father died and left the whole lot to my mother. Mother at all times thought she was a wise gambler that might win. As proof, she received perhaps $25k from the lottery as soon as and went out and purchased a automobile. After that, she was hooked. When Dad was alive, he didn’t let her gamble; he saved it underneath management. After he died, my mother discovered a boyfriend — a former bookie who was a ‘skilled’ gambler. They used to love going to casinos, squandering each penny and extra. Then, my mother offered the large home for an additional $500k and purchased a small condominium. She took out a house enchancment mortgage for it for $50k, however no enhancements have been ever made. Casinos and lottery tickets. A cool million or two gone.”

—u/Trutherist

7.”My dad is an ex-millionaire. He’s a wizard at beginning profitable companies, however his downside is that he can’t allow them to go. He’s the boss/proprietor who by no means hires a supervisor who isn’t household as a result of he doesn’t attempt anybody else to run the place. He drove three million-dollar corporations into the bottom as a result of he couldn’t sustain along with his personal success and refused to rent folks to do it for him.”

8.”Divorce. I used to be a millionaire, and my divorce almost despatched me to insolvency. I buckled down and labored my butt off and have since saved my millionaire standing. Don’t underestimate a nasty divorce’s pernicious impression on web price.”

—u/Erioph47

9.”My dad made some actually shrewd inventory market investments after he retired. They have been choices for an oil refiner at a time when the US had an actual scarcity of them. My dad had accomplished some analysis on this and studied the scenario rigorously. He received wealthy to the tune of perhaps $2 million. He may have been set for all times. My dad was already a very good man, however he took issues to the subsequent stage and purchased quite a lot of newer choices inside the identical firm. I steered diversifying and placing a bunch of cash into one thing nearer to an annuity or one other conservative funding that might give him loads of earnings ceaselessly. Then, he’d at all times be wealthy. Effectively, he’s fairly removed from that now.”

10.”I do know a man who made a fortune in the course of the housing growth within the 2000s. He took all the cash he made and put all of it again into the actual property market. Then, housing crashed. He by no means recovered.”

—u/endlessinquiry

11.”My great-grandfather began a sweet firm that serviced most of Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. My grandfather (his son) offered the corporate for upwards of about $100 million. My grandfather used the cash to purchase some land down in Florida, franchised just a few radio shacks, and purchased quite a lot of automobiles. Throughout this time, he divorced my grandmother and married one other girl with kids. Towards the top of his life, my grandfather reconnected with my mom and met me, however then developed mind most cancers. He determined to chop his spouse out of his will and gave all his cash (round $10 million) to my mom and her brother. As a result of he was bedridden, he needed to have his lawyer e-mail and print out the brand new will, which he was to signal and mail again to his lawyer. However he requested his spouse (the one he was screwing over) to mail the brand new will, however it received ‘misplaced.’”

12.”I’ve a relative who’s a self-made millionaire many occasions over. He was the hardest-working particular person I’ve ever identified, and as quickly as he graduated from highschool, he received his actual property license and have become a profitable realtor. Inside 30 years, he opened a profitable building firm, a retailer that offered kitchen cupboards, and owned over 20 rental properties. Effectively, this wasn’t sufficient for him, so he began renting out his properties to individuals who used them to develop pot as a result of they’d paid him extra. His granite firm was used to ship the pot throughout state traces, and now he’s sitting in jail, dealing with a minimal of 10 years. He had shipped the pot to 9 totally different states, seven of which weed was nonetheless unlawful in.”

—u/SeattleSushiGirl

13.”COVID. My mother and father had tons of cash in shares and misplaced their millionaire standing as a result of crash that occurred. At one level, they have been shedding tens of 1000’s in a day. Fortunately, with the drug trials being profitable, my mother and father are beginning to make again their cash, although they’re nonetheless not making the quantity they have been earlier than.”

—u/OnyxScorpion

14.”I’ve a wealthy uncle whose father owned a giant chain of fuel stations and a few oil fields in Turkey. When his father died and my uncle took over, he didn’t care in regards to the companies. He simply partied and squandered the whole lot. Like, he purchased a brand new luxurious automobile and boat each week. Each few months, he’d transfer into a brand new luxurious residence and purchase new furnishings. After some years, the enterprise collapsed, and he needed to promote the whole lot to a giant US company when hitting insolvency. Everybody within the household hates him now. However guess what? Regardless of being an unproductive loser, he managed to marry a financial institution director. She is wealthy as hell and continues to sponsor his dumb way of life. For some folks, penalties simply don’t appear to exist. I imply, how are you going to go broke proudly owning oil fields? It boggles my thoughts.”

—u/[deleted]

15.”My mother and father have been each good folks. They went to the very best universities and graduated with B.A.s and Masters in structure. They went on to design very high-end flats and houses throughout Australia and saved up sufficient cash to open a Michelin-style restaurant on the water. It was successful, they usually turned extremely rich. My mother and father went all out. They purchased two penthouses in the identical constructing and mixed them into one, owned and managed a number of high-end flats all around the metropolis, purchased a number of sports activities automobiles and a yacht, and took my sister and me touring worldwide. However then, someday, a flood got here and took the restaurant utterly underwater, destroying near 1,000,000 {dollars} price of provides and the kitchen. They have been ruined. They needed to promote the whole lot simply to cowl the price of the restaurant. They’re now 70, dwell in a small condominium, and are working to repay all of the loans they owe.”

—u/sushitrash69

16.”My dad had over $20 million in a enterprise with 12 places and three extra openings on the best way. An worker who’d been caught promoting medication fabricated an elaborate story that he’d gotten medication from my dad’s firm and that the entire firm was a entrance for cartels. My dad spent quite a lot of time in Mexico again within the day and had a felony file, in order that was sufficient for the DEA to raid him. They stole all of the computer systems, terrorized the workers, and raided each one of many places and our residence on the identical day. They discovered nothing. Completely nothing. All papers have been so as; no indictments got here. Regardless, many of the workers and administration stop as a result of investigation. My dad needed to shut most of his places and promote them after lower than a 12 months simply to pay for the attorneys serving to to defend his case.”

“The worst half is the DEA received’t admit that they discovered nothing. They’ve left the case open indefinitely, making my dad unable to work in his subject. His attorneys stated that the prosecution privately requested him to seek out one thing flawed that he may plead to in order that they might save face. My dad received’t lie, in order that they received’t shut the case. The federal government took my dad’s life’s work and financial savings and ruined tons of of others’ lives. We’ve got zero recourse.”

—u/PianoToonr

17.”My finest pal was a nationwide gross sales supervisor for a giant tech firm. His crew invented the bomb-sniffing tech now used at airports, designed the pc community for a baseball stadium, added a monitor to an assault helicopter, and offered quite a lot of storage tools to the Intelligence Neighborhood. He made 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 a 12 months and had 1,000,000 in firm shares. Then, the tech bubble burst. His firm froze his shares and refused to let him promote them. He watched them dwindle to pennies. Then, when he was about to make a gross sales journey to London, he was laid off.”

“He received in his limo and requested his driver for a job. He’s been driving limos for over a decade now. He didn’t downsize rapidly sufficient; he nonetheless lived like a millionaire for some time and went by means of his financial savings. He’s afraid that after driving limos for therefore lengthy, he’ll by no means get one other high-paying job once more. Although he loves his job, he’s embarrassed to place ‘limo driver’ on his resume. Though, he doesn’t wish to return to a company job anyway.”

—u/Queen_Serenity_I

18.Lastly: “My first husband made 1,000,000 a 12 months. He was having fun with life — spending frivolously, however he made sufficient that it didn’t matter. We divorced amicably; there was no alimony or youngster assist. He simply paid for regardless of the children wanted. Then, he received leukemia. He fought like hell for 3 years. The final two years have been very costly, however it was price it. Cash received’t make you content, however the lack of it could possibly destroy you. The children and I take consolation in figuring out that there was really nothing else doable for him or us to do. His tens of millions purchased his children two extra years with him, and I’m glad that he loved his life whereas he may.”

—u/lowhangingfruitcake

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