10 Rappers Who Went Broke

While successful rappers usually make a better living than most Americans not all of them are smart enough to use that to their advantage. Some rappers simply don’t have the business or financial sense needed to manage large amounts of money.

Here is a list of 10 rappers that went broke

Xzibit

Pimp My Ride was a sweet deal for rapper Xzibit until MTV cancelled it in 2008. Since then he has seen his salary shrink in size to a mere $67,510 per year. The year after Pimp My Ride was cancelled his home in Southern California foreclosed as a result of his dwindling bank account. He was then forced to file for bankruptcy. In 2010 he owed the IRS close to $1 million in back taxes. At that time he was leasing a car that only cost $2,330 a month. Xzibit likely went broke because while he was hosting Pimp My Ride he was earning $500,000 every year and when the show was cancelled he continued to spend money as if he was still making that much per year.

Young Buck

Though rapper Young Buck’s first two albums went gold and platinum he is now broke. After a disagreement with fellow rapper 50 Cent, Young Buck was released by the record label he was signed with. In 2010 Young Buck filed for bankruptcy and was even evicted from his home. He reportedly couldn’t pay for the home because he owed the IRS $333,975.69. In 2012 he was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for a gun possession charge. Later that year his belongings were sold at an estate auction. It was even recently in the news that Young Buck was unable to pay his own cell phone bill.

Bow Wow

Rapper Bow Wow leased a 2008 Ferrari which he was then not able to make the payments on. As a result, he went to court in 2009 and was ordered by a judge to pay $216,084 in money he owed to his creditors. In 2013 Bow Wow went to court over unpaid child support and told the judge that he only earned $4,000 a month and only had a checking account balance of $15,000 at that time. In 2012 Bow Wow had his Bentley repossessed when he couldn’t afford the payments. He also owed an undisclosed six figure amount in back taxes he never paid.

MC Hammer

MC Hammer had it all and lost it all. He reportedly blew much of the fortune he earned during his rap career on marble floors for his house, to the tune of $30 million. In 2011 MC Hammer owed a reported $700,000 in taxes he had failed to pay. At one point he was in debt for $13.7 million. He had allegedly been paying his hired help half a million per year to maintain his home, cook his meals and perform other common household chores.

Lil’ Kim

Rapper Lil Kim reportedly spent much of her fortune undergoing various types of plastic surgery. After spending time in jail Lil Kim has not been able to kick start her rap career again. In fact, in 2008, Background Media (her former record label) sued her for an amount of $2.5 million and prevented her from being able to release any albums. In 2012 it was reported that Lil Kim owed $1 million for seven years’ worth of taxes she hadn’t paid.

Fat Joe

Fat Joe is another rapper that has found himself broke. The rapper served a four month prison sentence for failing to pay $700,000 worth of taxes between 2007 and 2008. He blamed his lack of tax payments on those he had authorized to manage his money

Scarface

Scarface is a Houston-based rapper who owed in excess of $123,000 in child support for four children. Though the rapper swears he paid the child support there is no record of it being paid. As a result of Scarface failing to prove he paid the child support he served 10 months in prison.

Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean is another rapper that was recently reported to be broke. He owes the IRS $2.9 million. This was recently revealed by his accountant because Wyclef Jean has failed to pay lawyer fees he owes, which equals $100,000 he owes to a law firm as well as $133,000 to settle his outstanding bill. Wyclef Jean was ordered to make two separate payments of $10,000 and $40,000 which he has failed to pay. Since he did not make those payments he now owes even more money as a result. He will now have to pay $100,000 as well as an annual interest rate of 10%.

Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel failed to pay any taxes from 1999 to 2005 and this led to him owing the IRS more than $728,000 in taxes never paid. The rapper claims that he lived a modest lifestyle but his friends kept hitting him up for money and that is why he went broke. As a result of giving his friends money rather than paying his taxes he has served a prison sentence of two years.

Trick Daddy

Trick Daddy is a southern rapper who failed to pay his taxes for years starting in 2002. As a result he owes almost $157,000 in back taxes. In 2010 his home in Miami went into foreclosure as he could not keep up with the payments.

DMX

In 2013, DMX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing claimed he had less than $50,000 in assets and $1-10 million in debt.  His debts included $1.3 million unpaid child support, $21,415 car payment to American Honda Finance,  $5000 in unpaid medical bills and $200,000 to a company that produced and marketed his “Boomer 129″ clothing line, Amusing Diversions Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

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