Tyson’s Bankruptcy Is a Lesson in Ways to Squander a Fortune
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For the former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, a cash machine to himself and to others, record earnings in the boxing ring became a license to spend — on jewelry, mansions, cars, limousines, cellphones, parties, clothing, motorcycles and Siberian tigers. Despite making about $400 million over the past 20 years, Tyson managed to squander his fortune. Advertisement One of his most recent extravagances came on Dec. 22, when Tyson walked into a Las Vegas jewelry store and picked up a $173,706 gold chain lined with 80 carats in diamonds. But he never paid for the fabulous jewelry, which is among the $23 million in debts specified in the Chapter 11 petitions he filed Friday with the United States Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Tyson’s free-spending past made him creditworthy at Jewelers Inc., which he departed without paying a cent for the diamonds. “Knowing him for so long, I gave him the merchandise and knew he’d pay later,” Mordechai Yerushalmi, the store’s owner, said by telephone yesterday. “He had open credit with me.” He added: “He’s been through his ups and downs. He will make good on it.” That may not be easy. At 37, Tyson’s boxing skills are diminishing, and so is his earning power; he could once command $30 million for a night’s work. His future earnings and the future proceeds from the sale of a Connecticut mansion will go to pay a $9 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife, Monica Turner. She also has a lien on Tyson’s Las Vegas estate, which is beside Wayne Newton’s. And now, much as he ardently hammered at his opponents’ jaws, Tyson’s creditors will pursue his assets. According to Tyson’s bankruptcy filing, his foes include: |