From $150 Million to Broke: Nick Cage’s Insane Purchases that Cost Him Everything

Everything seems glitz and glamour when you’re a celebrity. The blinding light of the cameras, the friendly atmosphere wherever you go, the world-class accommodation, and the fame – these things can make you feel like the king of the world.

That’s why some stars tend to forget that they should value money too, even though they go home with fat paychecks now and then. If they choose to be careless about it, the fortune that they earned with sweat and blood could vanish into thin air in a blink of an eye.

$150-Million Valuation

Nicolas Cage is one of those stars. He used to have a $150-million estimated net worth, thanks to his successful films like Gone in Sixty Seconds, Windtalkers, and National Treasure. Just how big was he? Legend has it that he used to command $20 million fee per movie, which may have easily made him rich. While it would seem that his moolah wouldn’t run out, it eventually did after squandering on arguably unnecessary things.

Some of Nicolas Cage’s film credits include National Treasure and Ghost Rider

The 55-year-old actor is now not only famous for his blockbuster pictures, but also because of a tale of a financial ruin that should serve as a lesson to other affluent stars. His fans would know how insane Nicolas’ spending habits were in the past years.

Add to that the bizarre purchases that made the news, not including the questionable actions he had done. In 2011, he reportedly owed the IRS $140 million and faced various debts. So, how did he blew his massive fortune?

Crazy Purchases

Nick, whose real name is Nicolas Coppola, infamously bought a Tarbosaurus head in 2007, outbidding Leonard DiCaprio. The 70 million-year-old skull set him back by $276,000, but he eventually had to return it to the Mongolian government because it turned out to be stolen.

The actor beat Leonardo DiCaprio in buying a dinosaur head for $276,000

He also bought a vintage Superman comic book called Action Comics No. 1 from 1997, which was said to be the first ever, for a whopping $150,000 but it was stolen in 2000. In 2011, it was found and was auctioned for more than $2 million.

Other outrageous purchases included a $150,000-octopus as a pet that Nick claimed helped him become a better actor, although it’s quite hard to imagine how could an eight-legged marine animal must have done that, and two snakes he named Sheba and Moby that he got for $276,000.

Real Estate Portfolio

Apart from these lavish purchases, nothing compares to his massive real estate portfolio. Nicolas bought 15 properties all around the globe, like a $25-million house by the beach at the Newport Beach, a $15.7-million residence on Rhode Island, and two castles worth $12.3 million in Europe.

He has two castles in Europe for $12.3 million

Nicolas admitted that it was because of his real estate purchases that drained his fortune. A part of his desire to own several properties stemmed from his childhood – growing up in a modest house, he wanted more, which drove him to strive harder.