We’re at the onset of a new year. You would think that people at the end of the year would be making preparations to welcome in the new year in the best way possible. Apparently, people have a different way of celebrating the end of the year: avoiding debts, bitter divorces and child support cases, among other things. We’ll highlight a few of the stories that stood out. What’s the underlying theme? Fiscal irresponsibility. Who wants to bet that these individuals had an extravagant Christmas?
Nelly Neglects His American Express Debt
Nelly has been quiet on the music scene for awhile now. While there’s been alleged rumors all these years that the hip hop artist was having financial issues, no bankruptcies were ever filed. Now the media including TMZ reveals that American Express comes forth stating that Nelly has failed to repay his $20,403.64 balance. Now a lawsuit has been filed in hopes of recouping the balance along with an estimated $3,000 in lawyer fees.
Our Thoughts: Not a good look. There isn’t sufficient information on the situation around the case. Perhaps there’s a dispute regarding the payment. It’s definitely something that should be resolved, and if Nelly simply neglected to pay it because he wants a little more drinking, gambling, or strip club money, then he deserved the lawsuit. Otherwise, we’ll await further news before we fully judge. If he’s beginning to become financially irresponsible, the new year awaits many, many more filings to come.
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Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife Cheated Out of $7 million
A year ago, news broke that Nicole Murphy was having financial issues. Well, Troy Stratos probably had a lot to do with that. TMZ reported that the ex-wife of Eddie Murphy was conned out of $7 million by this scum. Stratos became her financial adviser, purporting to be investing her money overseas. Meanwhile, he was simply pocketing the money for himself. Then, it got worse. [click to continue…]
Kobe will certainly earn himself a spot in the NBA Hall-of-Fame, but it looks like he will soon be a member of another prestigious group holding esteemed individuals like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Bob Johnson, and countless others. The only problem is that it’s a club for men who have lost significant assets to their ex-wives due to their scandalous behaviors. The plans had been set in motion earlier this month, yet news broke late on December 15th that Vanessa Bryant had filed for divorce. The Ibtimes reports, “sources told TMZ that Vanessa Bryant has decided to end the marriage because she believes Kobe Bryant has been unfaithful again.” The fact that the couple had been together for about 10 1/2 years in a No-Fault state like California without a pre-nup has the internet buzzing that Kobe could stand to lose half of his assets with this divorce.
Kobe should have taken a few notes from Tiger Woods’ messy situation. For an individual that took so much pride in carrying the “All Around Family Man” title, you would think he would have gotten his act together after the rape charge incident. To atone for his bad behaviors, he even ponied up a whopping $4 million dollar apology ring in hopes of keeping Vanessa after that debacle. At that point, Kobe should have [click to continue…]
Allen Iverson has had it rough these past few years. Aside from the massive personal issues, the basketball legend has already had his share of financial problems. So, it won’t come as a surprise that those dependent on Iverson will have to additionally deal with financial hardships. However, what is surprising is that Iverson’s wife who is currently filing for divorce claims that her husband is depleting their joint bank account for frivolous items like jewelry.
TMZ reports the following:
Allen Iverson’s divorce has taken a nasty turn — according to his estranged wife, the former NBA star went on a massive spending spree after she filed for divorce, leaving her completely penniless.
Tawanna just filed new docs in their bitter divorce battle — claiming ever since she filed for divorce in June, Allen stopped depositing money in their joint bank account … and then made several large cash withdrawals, including one for $20,000 … which he spent on diamond jewelry.
Tawanna claims the account was $23,000 in the red at the time she filed the court docs — and she’s been unable to pay the bills … or provide for their 5 kids.
According to Tawanna — who says she gave up her career to be a stay-at-home mom — Allen is worth over $20 million … and refuses to help her out simply out of spite.
Allen denies Tawanna’s allegations in the docs — and since they’re at a stalemate … the judge will have to play peacemaker. So far, no hearing date has been set.
This article represents a sad state of affairs. We’re sure Tawanna and Allen have their own set of issues, which [click to continue…]
Tyler Perry may be one of the highest paid man in Hollywood, but author Melvin Childs claims he only achieved his success due to ties with drug dealers and shady promoters. Tyler has professed from the onset of his fame that he has gotten to where he is today with hard work, persistence, and faith. Yet, Childs claims that it simply wasn’t the case. These allegations haven’t been addressed by Tyler, and it would be hard to produce evidence to reveal or deny them. One thing Melvin doesn’t do is deny Tyler’s hard work ethic and talent.
Excerpts from the book Never Would Have Made It follow from the Grio*:
Was I just a promoter when you came to me for a loan because you didn’t have the money to pay your cast? Was I just a promoter when you called me to borrow money to buy food or when I personally paid for the hotel you were living in while you were supposedly homeless? Maybe I was and if that’s the case, then so be it. But guess what? Regardless of what he wants to call me, I was there. And because I was there, I also have a story to tell.
There are so many different possibilities with this story. Also, it has to be taken into account that there are different versions of the truth by each individual involved. However, the previous passage does point to a man who feels betrayed by Tyler’s success and lack of acknowledgment of his contributing role in Tyler’s accomplishments. This doesn’t mean that his allegations are warranted. Let’s look at the various scenarios:
Depending on which facts you look at, the past two years could be considered rough for musician Wyclef. During the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Wyclef stepped up to the plate for his native homeland and requested $5 contributions. Those contributions added up to an impressive multi-million dollar sum. Things were looking bright for Wyclef’s charitable organization Yele and Haiti both…that is, until the media began combing through financial books, finding horrendous inconsistencies that contrasted the pledged allegiance to come to Haiti’s rescue at whatever cost [See our earlier Wyclef article]. New reports have come forth to reveal that less than one-third of the charitable proceeds actually went to Haitian causes. What a shame!
According to the exclusive report, Jean’s charity, Yele Haiti, doled out millions in questionable contracts — in fact, $1 million was paid to a Florida firm that doesn’t seem to exist.
The Post also reported that a company called P&A Construction — which is run by Warnel Pierre, Jean’s brother-in-law — received $353,983 from the group.
On the other side of it all, if you look in depth at Yele’s spending, Wyclef has reaped lucrative financial rewards over these past two years: a little money to a mistress; a few big stacks to contracted companies that were discovered to be actually Wycleff’s own businesses. It’s a true testament that greed can bring out the ugliest behaviors in man.
This video left us absolutely speechless after watching it. Southern rapper OGK gets on camera to not only boast about his $500,000 in earnings, but he begins tossing it around like fertilizer on the ground. Can anyone in the world make sense of this video? We think not! So we’ll just tell you all the reasons that it doesn’t make sense.
The Four Financial Principles Broken in This Video
First: That $500,000 you’re going HAM over is extra money in interest that you won’t be earning because you’re too busy playing childish games, carrying money around in a bag under your armpit. Instead of focusing on the next benchmark, you’re on camera celebrating the $500,000 that will honestly be history before the next full moon. So you’re already limiting your earning potential by leaving money around.
Second: Pick up your taxes that you WILL be paying to the IRS off the floor. You are probably paid as a contractor and will need to pay your fair share of taxes of the money earned to Uncle Sam. Apparently, your “baby mama’s” money is in there too. So, you need to at least pick up half that money and go pay your bills, as the courts and the IRS will be [click to continue…]
Rap legend Heavy D passed away at the age of 44, and it was one of the most unexpected incidents to have occurred. There has been an outpouring of condolences and support towards the rapper, and it’s understandable. Heavy D appeared to be a standup guy with Grade A character. After his passing, a few websites are reporting that the family, or some sole person within the family, created a “fund” for “Xea Myers, Heavy D’s daughter”. This doesn’t sit with us too well.
Generally, funds are dedicated to causes near and dear to the departed’s heart. Unless dire circumstances led to the family being unable to support themselves, it doesn’t make much sense considering the fact that Heavy D probably amassed many millions throughout his career. The one person that should be taken care of, without a doubt, within the estate should be his daughter. However, we don’t know who in the family created this fund. We imagine that it must be someone close to the daughter. There’s many unknown facts, so we don’t dare to speculate.
Post Death Entitlement
This unfortunate event brings up a very important issue that we felt the need to address: entitlement. Sometimes the most traumatic events occur after a loved one has passed away because the family has to act a fool over the assets. James Brown and Michael Jackson’s families [click to continue…]
The Occupy Movement has garnered a reaction from almost everyone around the world. Hippies and the like grabbed a few necessities and headed on down to their local parks to have their voices heard. The one percent and Fox News simply roll their eyes and claim there’s no validity to the movement. There’s the in between that aren’t quite sure where they should stand. There’s the indifferent. Then there are the supporters of either the ninety-nine percent or the one percent. If you’re Jay Z, however, you grab a Rockawear t-shirt that reads “Occupy All Streets” and slap a $22 price tag on it, where the proceeds will in no way benefit the movement that it references. Brilliance? Maybe not so much!
Jay Z should have conducted a simple research study or sought out a focus group before executing on this idea. It was simply in poor taste. After the Tea Party opportunity passed him by, he must have decided that he wouldn’t let another chance to ride the fame off of a movement pass him by. He was obviously, “watching the throne”, his own throne that is. Who references a movement yet donates zero proceeds to the cause or an Occupy-Movement-approved cause?
Nelly has been quiet on the music scene for awhile now. While there’s been alleged rumors all these years that the hip hop artist was having financial issues, no bankruptcies were ever filed. Now the media including TMZ reveals that American Express comes forth stating that Nelly has failed to repay his $20,403.64 balance. Now a lawsuit has been filed in hopes of recouping the balance along with an estimated $3,000 in lawyer fees. 
of Eddie Murphy was conned out of $7 million by this scum. Stratos became her financial adviser, purporting to be investing her money overseas. Meanwhile, he was simply pocketing the money for himself. Then, it got worse. [click to continue…]
