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How Johnny Depp blew $880 million

JOHNNY Depp, once the “highest-paid actor in Hollywood”, is now reportedly facing financial ruin. Where did the hundreds of millions of dollars go?
Johnny Depp’s extravagant spending habits have been laid bare amid an ugly legal battle. Credit: AFP Photo/Oli ScarffSource:AFP

Johnny Depp’s extravagant spending habits have been laid bare amid an ugly legal battle. Credit: AFP Photo/Oli ScarffSource:AFP

THERE’S no denying Johnny Depp’s career has taken a nosedive in recent years.

After a few too many flop movies and a boatload of bad press, he’s a far cry from the Hollywood leading man bringing in the huge paychecks he could once command.

Sure, as central character in J.K. Rowling’s much anticipated flick Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelward — a sequel to the widely successful Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them — due to be released in November, maybe he can still turn it around.

For now, though, he’s in a financial hole.

It’s a stunning fall from grace for the man whom Forbes magazine ranked as Hollywood’s highest-paid actor from June 2009 to June 2010.

But Depp’s former manager Joel Mandel of The Management Group — with whom he’s currently locked in an ugly legal war — claims the Pirates of the Caribbean star earned $AU880 million in just 13 years … and squandered it.

(Depp’s now suing TMG, accusing them of mismanaging his finances and leaving him with money woes. TMG is countersuing, claiming Depp’s recent financial troubles have been caused by his lavish lifestyle which they claim cost more than $2 million a month to maintain, while the star allegedly ignored their repeated warnings to rein in his spending.)

MORE: Depp claims he ‘couldn’t take the pain’ in bombshell interview

“Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today,” Mandel declared in his lawsuit last year. “He has refused to live within his means.”

Which begs the question: What the hell did he spend all that money on?

Further details of his extravagant purchases are laid bare in a new interview with Rolling Stone. It paints a picture of a lifestyle of such excess that we regular humans can barely even imagine it — including buying a couch from one of the Kardashian’s homes and racking up a $AU40,000 monthly wine bill.

Here’s how Depp allegedly spent his hundreds of millions of dollars.

1. HOMES … LOTS OF HOMES

In court documents filed by Mandel last year, he claimed that the actor spent $AU101 million on maintaining his 14 residences, which include a 45-acre chateau in the South of France, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, multiple houses in Hollywood, several penthouse lofts in downtown Los Angeles, and a horse farm in Kentucky.

2. GUITARS … LOTS OF GUITARS

Johnny Depp’s love of music has been well-documented throughout his career.

He collaborated with Oasis, members of The Pogues, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Sex Pistols before joining The Hollywood Vampires in 2015 — and along the way, allegedly managed to collect a staggering 70 guitars.

Depp on tour with his band in 2018. Credit: Uffe Kongsted/MEGA
Depp on tour with his band in 2018. Credit: Uffe Kongsted/MEGASource:Mega

3. A BIZARRE TRIBUTE

When news first broke of how Depp had scattered the ashes of his good friend Hunter S. Thompson, it sounded almost too bizarre to be true.

Earlier this year, Depp’s former managers alleged he spent $AU4 million firing the late journalist’s remains into the sky from a cannon. Thompson, who died at 67, had reportedly said that he’d like his ashes scattered in such a fashion.

When asked about it by Rolling Stone, Depp was happy to confirm the story, even adding that the actual cost was even higher — $AU6.7 million.

The actor was close friends with <i>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas</i> author Hunter S. Thompson (centre). Credit: AP Photo/Kathy Willens.
The actor was close friends with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas author Hunter S. Thompson (centre). Credit: AP Photo/Kathy Willens.Source:AP

4. AN EXTRAVAGANT ART COLLECTION

Over the years, Depp has amassed an impressive 200-piece art collection with works by Andy Warhol, Basquiat and Amedeo Modigliani, according to Mandel.

5. FLYING PRIVATE

Most of us would probably be happy with first class, but Depp allegedly has a penchant for flying private. In court documents, it was claimed he spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on private jets every month — at a total cost of $2.7 million.

6. HIRING A FULL-TIME SOUND ENGINEER

Mandel’s lawsuit also alleged Depp paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars to employ a full-time sound engineer, who Depp has used for years to feed him lines during film production”.

Depp neither confirmed nor denied this, according to his interview with Rolling Stone, but said he had sounds fed to him — including “bagpipes, a baby crying and bombs going off”, noises that made him act with his eyes. “My feeling is, that if there’s no truth behind the eyes, doesn’t matter what the f***ing words are,” he told the publication.

7. VEHICLES

Depp has reportedly bought as many as 45 luxury vehicles, including a vintage 1940 Harley Davidson motorbike — the first extravagant purchase he made for himself after he started landing big movie roles.

8. A KARDASHIAN COUCH

Who can blame Depp’s 19-year-old daughter Lily-Rose for wanting a couch from the actual set of Keeping Up With The Kardashians? Her father granted her wish, and the Depps are now in possession of an $AU8800 Kardashian cast-off.

Even the Depps wanted a piece of the Kardashians. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for ABA)
Even the Depps wanted a piece of the Kardashians. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for ABA)Source:Getty Images

9. LOADS OF STORAGE

Depp allegedly has 12 storage facilities, costing a whopping $AU633,000, which is kind of surprising given he presumably has his pick out of 14 properties in which to store his stuff.

The extra storage is to house the millions of dollars’ worth of Hollywood memorabilia he’s collected over the years, mostly related to Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe.

10. A PERSONAL DOCTOR

Mandel has claimed Depp also forks out approximately $AU1.6 million per year to keep a doctor on call for his every need.

11. SECURITY

Security has also been a major factor in Depp’s spending habits. Over the years, he’s allegedly forked out $AU2.43 million annually for around-the-clock security for himself, and also for his mother prior to her death in 2016.

12. STAFF WAGES 

It’s claimed the actor keeps a 40-person staff, at a cost of more than $AU4 million a year.

However, Depp’s payments to his sister Christi — who has worked for him since early in his career — and to his assistant, Nathan Holmes, have become a central piece of his court case against his former business managers.

In court documents, he claimed Mandel paid Christi more than $AU9 million and Holmes more than $AU1 million dollars without his knowledge or consent.

13. LATE FEES

With big earnings come big tax bills, and to make matters worse — Depp alleges his representatives regularly didn’t pay his on time, resulting in a whopping $AU10 million in late fees to the [US tax agent] IRS, Rolling Stone reported. Depp has made this claim in his lawsuit against TMG and is trying to claw back some of this cash through the courts.

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

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