Talking about social mobility, we usually hear examples of industrial workers who become wealthy businessmen, not the other way around. But just because you climbed up the ladder (or were born way higher than most), doesn’t mean you will stay there. So we at Bored Panda thought it would be interesting to hear from those who fell down.
After searching the internet far and wide, we put together a list of confessions from formerly rich folks—even millionaires—where they explain how they or, in some cases, their loved ones, lost their money. From trusting the wrong people to gambling, continue scrolling to read the anonymous stories.
#1
Making payroll during a pandemic has put a dent in my net worth. Haven’t laid off a single employee or cut benefits.
#2
Friend of mine is a direct decedent of a super rich Spanish noble from Madrid. Essentially, this guy made so much money, nobody in the family needed to work for over a century. But because nobody worked, there was no money added to the family fortune, and it slowly dwindled away. His dad got the last of it and used it to get a degree from a good university and is doing really well for himself.
Image credits: JMSTEI
#3
My dad, not me. He made some really shrewd stock market investments after he retired. They were options on an oil refiner at a time when the USA had a real shortage of them. My dad had done a lot of research on this and studied the situation carefully. He got rich to the tune of maybe $2 million. He could have been set for life. My dad was already a really smart guy. He has a PhD in mathematics and was a highly respected big-brain professional all the way back into the 1960s. However, he thought this took him to the next level. He bought a lot of newer options in the same company. I suggested to him that he diversify, put a bunch of money into something closer to an annuity or another conservative investment that would give him plenty of income forever. I told him if he did that, he would always be rich. Well, he is pretty far from that now. I haven’t said a thing about that to him since he lost everything. I did what I could, at the time, to save him from himself. But who was I? It pains me to see how it played out for him. He did a lot of things right in life. He deserved better, but there’s no “deserve” in securities investing. Morals of this story:
1. You aren’t an investment genius after your first blockbuster win. You need a track record.
2. Diversify.
Image credits: KlownPuree
#4
Not me, my mom.
My grandfather died and left everything to my mom.
My father died and left everything to my mom.
Mom always thought she was a smart gambler that would win – and as proof she won something like $25,000 in the lottery once and went out and bought a car. That just got her hooked… good.
When dad was alive, he didn’t let her gamble – he kept it under control.
After dad died, mom found a boyfriend. A former bookie who was a professional gambler. They used to like going to the Indian casinos where they subsequently squandered every single penny and more as my sister told me that mom, after selling the big house for another half million bucks and buying a small little condo – has now taken out a home improvement loan against the condo for $50,000.00 – no improvements were ever made.
Casinos and lottery tickets. A cool million or two gone.
Image credits: Trutherist
#5
I have a relative who is a self made millionaire many times over. He was the hardest working person I’ve ever known. As soon as he graduated from high school he got his real estate license and became a successful realtor. Within 30 years he opened a successful construction company, a store that sold kitchen cabinets, and owned over 20 rental properties. This wasn’t enough form him and he started renting out his properties to people that would pay him more to grow pot in. His granite company was used to ship the pot across state lines and now he’s sitting in jail facing a minimum of 10 years. The government is coming after all his rentals and money.
Edit: I should add he shipped the pot to 9 different states (7 of which weed is still illegal) using usps.
You can read more about the case here https://ift.tt/WNcCO5T
Image credits: SeattleSushiGirl
#6
Not me, but my parents.
Both smart people, went to the best universities, graduated with BAs and Masters in Architecture. Went on to design very high end apartments and homes all over Queensland (Australia) – saved up enough to open a Michelin style restaurant on the water. It was a hit, they became incredibly wealthy and this is where money started to take a toll on them. They went all out.
Bought two penthouses in the same building and combined them into one.
Owned and managed multiple high end apartments all over the city
Bought multiple sports cars and even a yacht
Took my sister and I travelling all around the world.
My life growing up was literally a model’s instagram page. But then one day a flood came, the restaurant went completely underwater and destroyed close to a million dollars worth of wine and not to mention the write off on the kitchen. They were ruined. They had to sell everything just to cover the cost of the restaurant.
They now live in a small apartment and are both still working over 70 to pay off all the loans they still owe.
Word of warning, if you come into possession of a large sum of money, don’t be stupid.
Image credits: sushitrash69
#7
I work in finance and my team and I work with all very affluent clients. I’ve seen so many millionaires lose it all not from investing in the markets, but from: Taxes, Lifestyle and poor business decisions.
Once had a client who was making 50k a month, but was spending 60k a month and perpetually dipping into his investments. There were months where payments bounced because he was living a lifestyle and always wanted more.
My favorite investment advice: Same car, same house, same spouse
Image credits: imjustaguy812
#8
I don’t know if this fits, but my ex had a friend who inherited a million dollars in cash and near-cash assets when his only parent died and he was 20 years old. Now, you aren’t just going to retire at 20 on a million bucks but it’s a great way to pay for college, maybe buy a car and a down payment on a house, and save/invest the rest. Basically, it’s a really good way to start your adult life and nearly ensure you’ll be quite wealthy in your later years.
Did he do any of that? Nope. Bought himself a ridiculous luxury car, bought cars for his friends, bought wardrobes of designer clothes, threw huge parties repeatedly, etc. Ended up broke in two or three years and went back to waiting tables to make rent. Sad to see.
Image credits: 05110909
#9
Hypothetical millionaire.
I bought $100 worth of bitcoin when they were about $1 each. I sold them when they were about $2.50 each and was so happy I made money from “internet coins”.
As of the moment I am typing this those coins would be worth $1,855,000.
Image credits: Dicktremain
#10
The Somali Civil war. My grandfather had a manufacturing company, but the war ruined it. My family used our last half-million to get our relatives out of the country.
Image credits: WilheminaHunsicker
#11
I have never been rich but my family was well above average when i was a kid. My father was a mechanic and in 1981 he bought a car repair shop that made us money pretty well.
Then in 1992 the Bosnian war started and our hometown of Sarajevo was put under a siege that lasted until 1996.
In 1994 we were able to escape the city and move into a refugee camp. When the war ended we returned to Sarajevo and my fathers car repair shop as well as our home were in total ruins after all the artillery and mortar fire.
We were able to get a new home fairly quickly with the help of some of our relatives but we never got the car repair shop fixed. It was in so bad condition we just demolished it after we had sold all found scrap metal and usable tools.
Image credits: BrunoOtus
#12
My wifes Aunt used to be rich. Was married to a brain surgeon who was also on the board of directors for all the local hospitals so pulling down two checks. She was a platinum member of a local casino and would send us and other family members coupons for all inclusive weekend visits to the casino. You literally did not need to bring any money for anything. All food, drink, gratuity, ect was all taken care of. Anyway her husband had his medical license revoked for writing too many scripts for pain killers to her and other people and they both now live in Mexico somewhere.
Image credits: 1320Fastback
#13
Covid. Built a business that was given a valuation of a few million back in January, but the industry is now down 80% and I’m doing all I can to avoid bankruptcy.
Image credits: throwawayletsgetreal
#14
Not a millionaire, but at 19 I had accumulated about $170,000 USD through hard work and determination, as well as a big ol’ stroke of luck regarding the kindest employer I’ve ever worked for.
After seeing all that money, I made a series of frivolous financial decisions, and one good one which has been my saving grace through covid. I bought a car, in cash, paid for 6 months of a townhouse rental in cash, and proceeded to smoke weed and get caught doing it, multiple times, in a state where it isn’t legal to do so.
Most of my money went to treatment classes, drug testing, court fees and fines, and two lawyers. I’d say smoking pot in a conservative state has cost me roughly $50,000 (That’s counting the cost of the pot) and the rest went towards a Roth IRA, two cars, three motorcycles, and three hospital visits. I’d been fortunate enough to recoup some of what was lost through a great employment opportunity, which, unfortunately, didn’t last due to covid. I was laid off and didn’t work there long enough to qualify for unemployment or severance and so I was stuck dipping into my savings to feed my family. While I was working for my last employer I decided to take a loan out for my dream car, and two weeks later I was laid off, so a good bulk of my IRA has been going to that and I’m now being forced to sell it or give it up for repossession. Luckily I’ve paid enough on it, with help from my family, to be able to sell it for more than what my loan is, so I’m not exactly screwed, but next month is likely going to be filled with lots of fasting and ketchup sandwiches. Anymore of what I take from my IRA would be heavily penalized since I’ve used up the initial capital investment so that’s no longer an option.
It’s amazing how quickly a dumb kid can go from saving so well and not really understanding what I was doing, to blowing it all realizing I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted with the money I’d earned. It took some years to get there, and it’s taken some years to get back to a rational mind, as well as some dumb financial decisions, but I’m finally able to say that every dime of what I earn is going to be saved, and I no longer do illegal drugs so there’s no chance of me getting slapped with fines and court fees anymore. However, I am aware that the job I had in gaining my initial accumulation of funds is a one-in-a-million chance which I blew, and it’s really hard to settle for anything less than what I’ve earned before. It’s really quite soul-sucking to see people offering $10/hr or $15/hr like it’s some blessing bestowed upon the poor people in this country, knowing just how easily they could offer more. That’s something I’d like to see change, everybody deserves the opportunity to earn more than the bare minimum to survive and from my perspective, not everybody gets that chance. I’d say not even half the population of this country gets that chance.
Image credits: hondac55
#15
Well, I see a lot of stories here, but here’s one that’s a bit different. We moved from the USA to Lebanon after college in order to be with my husband’s family, they were close. Surprise, his parents died before we could get there, his dad a few months before we left and his mom unfortunately passed away during our flight and was buried a few hours before we arrived. This was not a good omen. However, we had moved every last possession with us and were determined to stay nevertheless.
After 30 years and close to retirement, we had several houses, apartments, good jobs with benefits and ample pensions. It had been a tough road and we had really starved at first. Now, we were looking forward to living where we wanted, whether in the USA or Lebanon, and living off of a modest retirement income.
All that was wiped away due to the current economic disaster in the country, worsened by covid but mainly due to financial mismanagement of the country and corruption on a grand scale pretty much unparalleled in modern history.
Everyone in Lebanon wants to emigrate now. There are no renters with money to inhabit our apartments. The lira is worthless, and our pensions are worth almost nothing. We could have spent those years in the US building up 401ks and buying a home.
Image credits: mistmanners
#16
Not me but my grandma. She started a shoe company, it became one of the biggest retails in the south part of the country. Then as her retiring days got here she passed it on to her kids who ran it to the ground. She came out of retirement and within a year she she got out of debt and made it profitable again then went back to retirement. They ran it back to the ground and even put a morgage on her house. She let it fall and the company no longer exist. She saved her house with her saving and she lived a comfortable retirement from money on properties she onwed.
#17
My parents had built up a multi million dollar company over a couple decades before and during my early childhood. Around 2006 they separated and ran each other dry in court. Then the crash came and bankrupted both of them and lost everything they put years into. Unknowingly recently after my mother’s parents passed away she was able to take a portion of an investment account that built millions from her fathers stock from working in the railroad industry. My father rebuilt his business from scratch repaired his credit and has grown it bigger than it ever was before. By the age of 21 I’ve witnessed my life go from rich to broke to wealthy. I am in a great position in life now for my age but work,plan,live and learn like everything could be again gone in the blink of an eye.
Image credits: ObamaPhonesForSale
#18
My cousin was a big rapper in the 90s, when I say his name you probably know him or heard his music. It is still used today in the USA.
Anyway he became a millionaire really fast at 20 something years old after being a dishwasher.
His manager made him sign bad contracts and almost all of the money after a year or two went to his manager and accountant.
He is still doing okay producing some music in Los Angeles but not a millionaire anymore.
#19
it wasn’t me, it was an ex-girlfriend and her family. her dad was a war artifact/art collector and salesman. the kind of job where one sale = $5,000-$100,000. that kind of quick money made him believe he could live rich. so he lived in a big house, had another big house in a different state, a timeshare on an island, he would swap out for the newest Cadillac Escalade every two years. he managed to run life like this, getting into a habit of really bad spending choices, for 20 or so years until it was revealed to everyone he was subsidizing all of it with credit and wasn’t making nearly as much money as he used to or claimed. that was when the IRS and the banks came knocking. he had held onto some artifacts and art and was able to sell those piece by piece to slow down and lessen the blow, but it was an undeniable downward spiral and he ended up declaring bankruptcy. private artifact collectors and art collections just aren’t as hot as they used to be so he’d have to settle on low prices for all the sales. now he frequently moves around in a different state to keep the IRS and banks off his tail, and my ex is just about the only person who has stuck by him through this but there’s only so much she can do.
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Image credits: greatergood2019
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