Mariah Carey - A candy-filled room
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's twins aren't just spoilt; they have their own candy-filled room full of lollipops, gumball machines, and a cotton candy maker. Life is obviously tough for little Monroe and Moroccan and we should be happy in the knowledge they have a safe space like this.
Nick Cannon hard-launched the candy room by sharing a photo on Instagram. He captioned the picture, showing his twins in the room: "This room is the reason for all the hyper-activity!!! Patiently waiting for the Sugar Crash!!!’ Don't lie, you also want to be in the candy room. Maybe not with Monroe and Moroccan, though.
Johnny Depp - A canon for Hunter S. Thompson's ashes
Johnny Depp has recently suffered casting troubles for the first time since he began acting. He was dropped as Grindelwald from the next film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise after a series of bitter lawsuits with former managers who tried to blame Depp for his own financial despair.
They might have been right, too. Depp's recorded spending included $30,000 a month on wine, $300,000 a month to maintain a 40-person staff, $150,000 a month for 24-hour security, $200,000 a month on private planes, and $3 million to fire Hunter S. Thompson's ashes out of a cannon.
Wesley Snipes - A mansion for rappers
There probably hasn't been a more high-profile defendant of criminal tax evasion in Hollywood history than Wesley Snipes. The Blade actor ended serving time in a federal prison for his crimes, which came from following the advice of a dodgy tax dodging friend and stupid spending.
The most stupid of his expenditures was arguably the $8 million mansion he bought in Alpine, New Jersey, which served to host rappers, athletes, and other rich types. Snipes eventually turned his life around and got back into movies though, starring in Cut Throat City and Dolemite Is My Name.
Nicolas Cage - A pet octopus
Everyone loves Nicolas Cage. He's one of Hollywood's last true weirdos. And while he doesn't struggle to work, the actor has faced rock bottom financially after blowing the best part of a $150 million fortune on the type of nonsense we'd all buy if we were famous.
Cage wasted money on a $150,000 pet octopus, 15 homes (including a group of mansions and two castles in Europe), an island in the Bahamas, shrunken pygmy heads (?), and a dinosaur skull that he had to return after it was determined the fossil was stolen.
Paris Hilton - A dog villa
Paris Hilton has spent a good few years now trying to retcon her past, claiming that the dumb blonde shtick was nothing more than that. More importantly, she has tried to convince everyone that she's not some soulless socialite driven by material needs.
Unfortunately, the reality of Paris' previous spending habits contradicts everything she says. In 2009, the hotel heiress purchased a villa for her dogs. The property was two stories high and 300 square feet. It features a balcony (which dogs love, of course) and a black crystal chandelier.
Stephen Baldwin - An apartment for homeless people
Stephen Baldwin may have an annoying face, and be the most insufferable of an insufferable acting dynasty, but when he lost all his cash in 2009, it was down to a string of purchases that came out of the good of his strange, Hollywood heart.
Baldwin spent $1.1 million on a high-end pad in New York, that he eventually owed $2.3 million on. When he wasn't using it, the Usual Suspects actor decided to loan it out to those in need, including the homeless. Things went awry when one of the homeless men was arrested on suspicion of being a drug dealer.
Warren Sapp - A lion skin rug and sneakers
Athletes just wouldn't be the same if they didn't blow all of their career earnings in the space of a year after retirement. We don't want sensible, grownups on our courts and fields. We want compulsive spending addicts who buy stupid things for our entertainment. Warren Sapp understood the assignment.
In 2012, it was revealed he had wasted $82 million on 240 pairs of sneakers, a lion skin rug, and a 15,000-square-foot mansion. At the end of his reckless spending, Sapp had just $826.04 in his bank account. National Basketball Association? More like the National Bankrupt Association.
Mekhi Phifer - A bed made of leather
Mekhi Phifer was one of the most promising actors of the 2000s, having starred in the long-running TV show ER and the Eminem-led 8 Mile. He also featured on Hulu's Love, Victor. Phifer earned a good deal of money from these parts and loved to spend it on stupid things.
In 2014, he got himself into tons of debt, $1.3 million to be exact. His monthly income was $7,500. His monthly expenses were $11,6000. Do the math. Among Phifer's stupid expenditures were an obscenely large gun collection and a bed made of leather.
Aaron Carter - A family compound
The late Aaron Carter was a troubled soul who never managed to sustain or adjust to the immense fame he had as a teenager in the shadow of his older brother and Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter. He had blown his $200 million fortune before his 18th birthday.
One of his craziest expenditures was a 12-home Carter family compound, possibly in a desperate bid to heal wounds between his parents and brother. He tried and failed to launch a fashion line and box NBA star Lamar Odom, among many other fruitless ventures.
Lindsay Lohan - A London apartment
After making a splash in her teenage years with The Parent Trap, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan went off the rails, becoming more famous for her nightclub escapades than what she did on the screen. Before long, she was facing bankruptcy.
In 2022, she managed to get herself out of trouble by signing a two-film deal with Netflix, including a Christmas film. The timing couldn't have been any better as Lohan had just been in trouble for failing to pay rent on her London apartment, which cost $103,000 a month.
Dionne Warwick - A Shopping Spree
Dionne Warwick is a musical legend. One of the most successful hitmakers in the 1960s and beyond, she was the first female singer to launch a Metaverse Concert Series, as well as winning five Grammys and releasing over 100 albums. So what went so wrong for her?
Warwick also had a weakness for shopping. A very big weakness. By 2013, Warwick was down to her final $1,000 after blowing all her fortune on mindless tat. On top of having a huge credit card debt, she also owed $10 million in taxes.
Allen Iverson - Jewellery
Most NBA stars make insane amounts of money today thanks to the easy exposure granted by social media apps like Instagram and TikTok. But back in the day, only a select few got a piece of the pie. One of them was Allen Iverson.
The Philadelphia 76ers legend bagged a whopping $200 million in earnings over his basketball career, all of which was pretty much gone by 2012. Iverson blew the lot on a mixture of mansions, cars, and jewellery. At the time of his bankruptcy, he owed $900,000 to a single jeweller alone.
Chris Tucker - Three houses
Chris Tucker had Hollywood by the delicates back in the late 90s. Counting Jackie Chan and Michael Jackson among his closest friends, the comedian and actor could do no wrong... until he started spending money. Over and over and over again.
In 2007, it was reported that Tucker had bought his third home, a $6 million, 14,000-square-foot mansion. By 2014, he was facing a massive $14 million tax bill that he's been spending the last decade paying off. Pro tip: if you're rich, just buy one big house instead of three.
Burt Reynolds - A 4-acre estate
Big, burly Burt Reynolds couldn't have been seen in some puny house with ordinary wallpaper and furniture. No, he needed a strong, masculine estate, big enough to fit his moustache and ego. At the peak of his powers, he did just that, purchasing a 4-acre estate.
The property, based in Florida, proved too much for Reynolds, who declared bankruptcy in 1996, no matter how much he tried to deny the fact til the day of his death. Reynolds lost $40 million on silly spending, but he made a nice buck back in PTA's Boogie Nights the following year.
MC Hammer - Hundreds of friends
MC Hammer warned us that we couldn't touch it. But as it transpired, we should have been the ones saying that to him, regarding all the money he made from that lazy remake of Rick James' Superfreak. This man's tale of reckless spending is now folkloric.
In perhaps one of the saddest splurges in all of celebrity history, if not history in general, Hammer spent a staggering $30 million hiring hundreds of people to be his friend and hang out at his big Hammer House. The money quickly dried up and left the rapper in debt.
Francis Ford Coppola - A failed musical
Reckless spending isn't the exclusive pastime of actors and musicians but directors, too. Francis Ford Coppola, famous for The Godfather, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now among others, really liked to put his money where his ambitious Sicilian mouth was, none more so than when planning his dream musical.
Coppola went broke three times while financing the 1981 musical romp One from the Heart. The flick was a critical and commercial failure, landing the director in debt once again. Luckily, he made Rumble Fish the next year with Mickey Rourke and everyone liked that.
Mike Tyson - Pet tigers
When people flocked to see iconic comedy The Hangover and saw Mike Tyson in the guys' hotel suite looking for his tiger, they thought, "Ha-ha, look at Mike there, looking for his tiger! What a kook! Who would actually own a tiger in real life?"
Mike Tyson, that's who. The fact his fictionalised version in The Hangover had a pet tiger wasn't a creative coincidence. The former heavyweight boxer actually owned three Bengal tigers, and it cost him over $2,000 to feed each one per day. That kind of spending catches up with you in the end, no matter how many people you knock out.
Curt Schilling - A video game company
Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling thought he was really clever by investing $50 million into a video game company called 38 Studios. It turns out he was actually dumb. Fame and money can buy you many things, but it can't buy you a clear head.
The company soon went bust. Unfortunately, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning did not make the splash they thought it would. These days, Schilling spends his time sitting on social media ranting about his Baseball Hall of Fame rejections. To be fair, they have turned him down ten times.
Michael Vick - A dog fighting ring
Plenty of athletes are hated by the fans of those teams they played against but Michael Vick is hated even by his own and for a very good reason. The only positive to take from his controversy is that he actually paid back his creditors.
In 2014, he made headlines for wasting $18 million for running an illegal dog fighting ring in the wake of his financial ruin and incarceration. The sentence for such a depraved expenditure? Landing a job as a sports analyst for Fox! What a lark being a celebrity must be!
Kim Basinger - A Georgian themepark
Kim Basinger is no stranger to money troubles. She was once sued by New Line Cinema for dropping out of a movie she was signed on to shoot, because she didn't feel like doing it any more. But in 1989, three years before the controversy, she did something even crazier.
The Georgia-native, along with other investors, bought 1,751 acres of the 2,000-acre township of Braselton, Georgia for $20 million. The actress had decided she wanted to turn the town's farmland into a tourist attraction and film studio. In 1995, the town was auctioned off to cover Basinger's bankruptcy.
Magic Johnson - 30 Burger Kings
It's no mystery as to why former athletes invest in real estate. They have loads of money and need to find a new avenue of income. While a lot of athletes have made sound, sensible investments in hotels and restaurants, Magic Johnson went rogue.
Johnson, bypassing any healthy food startups, pooled a lot of his money into buying 30 Burger King franchises. Talk about a Whopper. The NBA legend also built 105 Starbucks franchises and sold them for a profit. He maintains control of the Burger Kings, however.
Russell Brand - A ticket to space
Before he announced he wanted to divorce her by text prior to a concert, Katy Perry was pretty devoted to hubby Russell Brand for a minute there back in the early 2010s. She even bought him a ticket for Richard Branson's spaceship company Virgin Galactic.
It's unsure whether or not Brand ever used the ticket but we're gonna guess that he didn't. Though if he really wanted to see the back of Perry, why wouldn't he take advantage of a chance to go into space with a bunch of random, bored millionaires?
Celine Dion - A humidifier above the stage
Being a singer is a scary business. Even when the going is good, there's every chance that misfortune could strike you and your vocal cords. In the past it has happened to powerful voices like Shania Twain, so it makes sense that Celine Dion wasn't about to take the same risks.
During a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas back in 2002, Dion demanded that the hotel fit a $2 million humidifier to "preserve her singing voice in the harsh desert climate." The device was installed above the stage while she performed. Did it work? Well, is Dion still singing?
Kelly Rowland - A crystal bath for Blue Ivy
Rumour had it that when Beyonce left Destiny's Child and embarked on one of the most successful solo careers in music history, she didn't have much time for her former bandmates. But if Beyonce's baby shower was anything to go by, she and Kelly Rowland, at least, remain tight.
Rowland made headlines for buying Blue Ivy a $5,200 dollar Swarovski-crystal-studded baby bathtub. It was one of the most expensive gifts handed out at the shower. Luckily, the gesture didn't change Blue Ivy, who later appeared at the MTV VMAs in a $11,000 gown.
Tamara Ecclestone - A bathtub covered in crystals
The daughter of Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was a darling of the media back in the late 2000s, mostly for her socialite escapades. In 2010, she made possibly the most headlines of her career after buying a bathtub covered in crystals worth $800,000.
"It's costing £1 million because I’ve got to reinforce the floor and I’ve had to pay for everyone's travel and the hauling back and polishing of the crystal," Tamara told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2011. "But I spend a lot of time in the bath so it's worth it."
Lady Gaga - Ghostbusters
Lady Gaga may embrace all kinds of dark fantasies as part of her stage shows, but there is one thing she doesn't mess around with and that's the supernatural. Around the time of her Monster Ball tour in 2010, the singer was revealed to have the phobia.
Gaga apparently has every hotel and tour venue scanned by a team of paranormal investigators before she agrees to stay there. The singer, who was stated she believes in the reincarnated spirit of her dead aunt, spent £30,000 on Electro Magnetic Field meters to detect spectres.
George Lucas - A personal fire brigade
Don't let appearances deceive you. George Lucas may have been out of the game for a while, and he may dress like an average Ranch-obsessed Midwestern dad, but the guy is worth $5.1 billion. With that kind of net worth, comes outrageous expenditures.
One of the wildest, albeit most sensible, was Lucas' decision to buy a fire brigade for his Skywalker Ranch in California. The Star Wars creator paid $100 million to hire 12 full-time firefighters as well as a few volunteers and fire trucks to protect his sanctuary.
Justin Bieber - Gold grills
Justin Bieber may have hit the big one when it comes to being a humble Christian kid from Canada, but he's still under the spell of every celebrity's kryptonite: awful accessories. One of his most pointless came in 2011 when he had grills made.
No, no. Not the kind of grill you get at a barbecue. Not the grill that made George Foreman a multi-millionaire. The ones you put in your mouth. Biebs had a custom-made gold grill made for a Halloween costume back in 2011 for the sum of $5,000.
Victoria Beckham - A gold-plated iPhone
It's foolish to scold someone known as "Posh Spice" for going on frivolous shopping sprees - especially when that someone is married to a man notorious for blowing his money on material goods. But Victoria Beckham might have taken things too far with this one.
In 2011, Victoria had a handcrafted smartphone designed for her by Stuart Hughes which was made of 150 grams of 24-carat gold. The whole thing set her back $36,000, which she probably had behind a sofa cushion. It's unknown whether Victoria still has the iPhone - which famously never stop working after just a few years.
Bono - A plane ticket for his hat
What's that old proverb? Don't come between a man and his... hat? It is if you're Bono. The U2 frontman forgot his favourite hat in London while flying to Italy for a concert in 2003 and decided to pay for a plane ticket and cab ride so he could wear it on stage.
"It was tricky telling the drivers and British Airways what he was after, but it all worked out," a source said at the time. Phew. It's a good thing Bono and U2 have never done anything else before or since to annoy the public.
Oprah Winfrey - A personally-shaped bathtub
Oprah Winfrey, like a lot of celebrities apparently, loves baths. She also has a lot of money. Therefore, she spends a lot on baths, including ones carved into the shape of her body. She revealed the news on The Late Late Show With James Corden, to the shock of everyone.
"However, it was carved to the shape of my body," she told a bemused Corden. "They create a cast model, you lie inside it, and then, yeah." That, my friends, is true moneyed behavior. Pointless? Yes. Whimsical? Absolutely. We'll give you this one, Oprah.
Larry Ellison - A casino owned by Frank Sinatra
Larry Ellison is bored. He's been a tech billionaire for years now, and there's not much else to do when you're that rich other than buy expensive things to assert your status. Enter the Lake Tahoe casino and resort once owned by Frank Sinatra.
Ellison bought the property for just under $36 million. Back in the 1950s and 60s, it was a getaway for celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedys. Today, it's far less glamorous, but does that bother tech billionaire Larry Ellison, with all his excess money? Nope.
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost - A ferry
Pete Davidson and his old Saturday Night Love costar Colin Jost bought a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry boat back in 2022. The comedian teamed up with a group of investors to place a $280,000 bid on the ferry at a charity auction.
Pete Davidson, who lives one of the most successful bachelor lifestyles of any man in history, plans to turn his and Jost's new boast into a floating entertainment venue. While Scarlett Johansson is likely invited, Kim Kardashian, Phoebe Dynevor, Emily Ratajkowski, Kaia Gerber, Kate Beckinsale, and Ariana Grande probably aren't.
Tom Cruise - A private jet for his spouse
Back when Tom Cruise was jumping on sofas to express his love for then-wife Katie Holmes, he liked to splash out. One of his biggest expenditures was a $20 million private jet he bought as a wedding gift to his new bride.
At the time, Holmes and fans alike were probably delighted. But in the current climate, feckless use of planes has fallen out of favor. Cruise probably wouldn't be caught dead spending that kind of money on a jet these days.
Ashton Kutcher - A ticket to space he didn't use
In 2012, Ashton Kutcher signed up for a $200,000 ticket to Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space age venture. Branson even called the comedian and actor to congratulate him about his future journey into space aboard his designer jet. According to the billionaire, Kutcher was "thrilled".
Kutcher, however, never went on the ride. "When I got married and had kids," he revealed in an interview, "my wife encouraged me that it was not a smart family decision to be heading into space when we have young children." Good for you, Mila Kunis.
Kendall Jenner - A knitted sofa
Kendall Jenner is often viewed as the most humble and "down to earth" member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, and while there may be some truth to that, she's no stranger to the odd luxury purchase. In 2016, she bought a $52,000 knitted sofa.
"It's all woven and a really groovy navy with purple shimmer. It works perfectly in the space!" Jenner said. On the designer's website, the blue and purple Boa was described as "a large woven nest. A soft embrace. An invitation to explore different positions lying between its pillows."
Steven Spielberg - A Citizen Kane prop
Back in 1982, Spielberg bought the sled from Orson Welles' Citizen Kane at a Sotheby's auction in London. The director paid $60,000 for the movie prop, beating out other bidders like Texas millionaire Lucian Flourney, who later revealed he'd have paid a million.
According to the Washington Post, Star Wars creator George Lucas also “had a yen for the sled. But he agreed to let Spielberg do the bidding and take possession in the auction that could conceivably have set new records for film memorabilia.”
Beyonce - Gold leggings
When Beyonce saw a pair of golden leggings from Balenciaga back in 2007, she knew she had to have them. The pants, which cost the singer $100,000, were eventually seen in the flesh at the 2007 BET Awards. "Are those six-figure leggings?" viewers asked. "Yes," Beyonce said, probably.
Critics came out in droves, claiming the leggings were a vulgar and pointless display of wealth. Beyonce was just getting started, however, and has been seen ever since sporting outrageously decadent clothing on tour. When your nickname includes the title "Queen", you're not going to be seen in sweats, are you?
Elton John - Flowers
In November 2000, it was revealed that Elton John had spent $60 million over a 20-month period including spending $400,000 on flowers. The singer's lifestyle was revealed as he gave evidence in his multi-million-pound contract battle. John, cocky as ever, had no regrets.
From January 1996 to September 1997 Sir Elton's spending was just under $4 million a month on average. The Rocket Man singer said: "I have no one to leave the money to. I'm a single man. I like spending my money." Now that he's married, you have to wonder if things have changed.
Kanye West - Michael Jackson's jacket
For Christmas in 2019, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West gifted their daughter North Michael Jackson's iconic black velvet jacket with diamonds at the shoulder and chest and a burgundy armband on the right arm. And people say celebrity children are spoiled!
The King of Pop first wore the jacket when he attended Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Taylor: A Celebration of Life with the iconic actress in 1997. According to E!, "The jacket had sold for a winning bid of $65,625 at Julien's Auctions' Icons And Idols: Rock N' Roll event in New York in October."