Meet the billionaires who went bankrupt

The super-rich who saw their fortune disappear

It's one of the most elite clubs in the world but those who become billionaires aren't immune to losing it all again. Read on for the stories of these former one percenters who prove it only takes a few wrong, and sometimes illegal, moves and it's back to rock bottom. All dollar values in US dollars.

Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford sure enjoyed the trappings of his $2.2 billion (£1.7bn) fortune, indulging in private planes and yachts during his heydays as an American financier and sponsor of professional sports.

Allen Stanford

But in 2009 it was revealed that his wealth was acquired through ill-gotten gains via the second-largest Ponzi scheme in history. He’s now penniless and behind bars after being sentenced to a 100-year jail term in 2012.

Aubrey McClendon

In 2011, Aubrey McClendon was worth $1.2 billion (£934m) as the co-founder of Chesapeake Energy, a pioneer in the use of new technology in the oil and natural gas industry.

Aubrey McClendon

But five years later, he was named by Forbes as “America’s Most Reckless Billionaire”, losing his billions when he was indicted on charges of conspiring to rig bids for oil and gas leases in March 2016. He died the following day in a car accident. 

Bernard Madoff

The late Bernard Madoff made his billions as a high-flying financial adviser as part of securities firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.

Bernard Madoff

In 2009, he was charged and pleaded guilty to defrauding investors to the tune of around $65 billion (£50bn), running the largest Ponzi scheme on record over at least two decades. He was sentenced to 150 years in a maximum-security prison and he died behind bars in April.

Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes was initially praised as the CEO of Theranos, an exciting start-up that promised to revolutionise medical testing with inexpensive blood tests. Her 50% stake in the company was worth an estimated $4.5 billion (£3.5bn), and at the time 19-year-old Holmes was named by Forbes as America's richest self-made woman.

Elizabeth Holmes

However, a series of allegations surrounding Theranos' frauduent claims and 'major inaccuracies' in the testing it was doing on patients followed, and Holmes' future fell apart. She and her company were charged with 'massive fraud' and her net worth was listed at zero by Forbes. Her trial is currently underway.

 

Eike Batista

Once the richest man in Brazil and the seventh-richest man in the world, Eike Batista largely made his money via his Brazilian natural resource company. He was worth more than $30 billion (£23bn) in 2012. 

Eike Batista

But in the next two years he lost almost all of his wealth, according to CNBC. In fact, in 2013 alone he kissed goodbye to $19 billion (£14.7bn). And he was soon forced to pay massive debts to the bank as his energy-related empire collapsed, finally filing for bankruptcy. 

Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson

Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson invested his money from his days as a former soccer player wisely, by plunging it into the beverage business. It turned him into a billionaire with a net worth of $3.5 billion (£2.7bn) and he soon acquired English football club West Ham United and the Icelandic bank Landsbanki. 

Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson

But he was a major victim of the Icelandic banking crisis in 2008. And he also had a number of bookkeeping offences that cost him a considerable amount of money to fight in the courts. In 2009, he was declared bankrupt on the basis that he couldn't pay his debts.

Jocelyn Wildenstein

The New York-based but Switzerland-born socialite fell into her $2.5 billion (£1.9bn) fortune from a divorce settlement in 1999 when she split from the late billionaire art dealer Alec Wildenstein.

Jocelyn Wildenstein

Jocelyn, known as Catwoman due to the excessive work done to her face, has always been renowned for her $1 million (£780k) a month spending. And in mid-2018, she filed for bankruptcy saying she owed millions, as reported by Fox News. “I was as surprised as anyone because there’s a lot of things involved,” she admitted at the time. 

Vijay Mallya

The party billionaire of the 90s, Vijay Mallya made $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) as India’s richest liquor baron and the owner of Kingfisher Airlines.

 

Vijay Mallya

But in 2012 he fell on hard times after his now-defunct airline racked up debts of more than $1 billion (£778m). His lavish spending saw him actually owe the banks money, but he left India quickly. The banks are on his back though, as the embattled tycoon is currently fighting an extradition case in London.

Sean Quinn

Irishman Sean Quinn was known for having his fingers in a few pies. He was a businessman who invested in everything from the hospital industry to plastics to five-star hotels. At one point he was considered the single richest person in Ireland.

 

Sean Quinn

But he did put all of his money into the Anglo Irish Bank which, in 2008, was forced to cease transactions due to unlawfully providing financial assistance to individuals for the purpose of buying shares. Quinn lost the lion's share of his £2.8 billion (£2.1bn) fortune and was sentenced to a nine-week jail term in late 2012 for contempt of court.

Adolf Merckle

He wasn’t just Germany’s richest man at one point, his $9 billion (£7bn) worth saw Adolf Merckle regularly feature on the world’s richest lists. He made his money as the head of a drugs and engineering conglomerate.

Adolf Merckle

But he was hit hard by the financial crisis of 2008 which saw his holding company VEM Group owe more than $6 billion (£4.6bn) in debt. He had nothing left in 2009 and he ended his life by laying in front of a train in Germany, leaving a note simply saying “I’m sorry”. 

 

Patricia Kluge

Eighties socialite Patricia (pictured centre) married billionaire and TV mogul John Kluge in 1981, the richest man in America at the time with a $5 billion (£3.8bn) empire. They divorced in 1990, leaving her as one of the nation's richest divorcees according to Forbes, with assets including the grand Albemarle estate in Virginia.

Patricia Kluge

However, an investment in a winery and vineyard near the Albemarle estate did not pay off, and in 2008 she put it on the market. A series of unpaid loans and financial downfalls led Patricia to start selling furniture and jewellery (pictured) at auction in a bid to stave off bankruptcy. It didn't work. When her old pal Donald Trump snapped up the vineyard in 2011, he offered her a day job. But that didn't last either.

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