• In his new book, Al Pacino had a net worth of $50 million and almost no assets left in the bank.
• The actor said he overspent, ignored his finances and had an accountant who later went to prison.
• Pacino sold assets and hosted seminars, a coffee commercial and an Adam Sandler film to stay afloat.

Al Pacino says he went from $50 million to bankruptcy by overspending, ignoring his finances and using an accountant who ended up going to prison for fraud. He joins a long list of celebrities who have made and lost huge fortunes over the course of their careers.

The 84-year-old “Scarface” actor detailed a series of money problems in his new autobiography, “Sonny Boy.” One of his first money shortages occurred after he completed The Godfather, and MGM Studios sued him for taking the role when they had already cast him in a mafia comedy.

“It was like I was some kind of gambler and the bookies were going to grab me,” Pacino wrote. “I had to hire lawyers to help me get out of that contract. Soon I was also $15,000 in debt to the lawyers.”

In a scene somewhat reminiscent of a mob movie, Pacino arranges a meeting with the studio boss and asks him to back down. “You’re killing me. I have no money and have to keep paying for lawyers because you keep suing me,” he wrote.

The studio head agreed to back down in exchange for Pacino giving MGM the first look at any book or screenplay he wanted to make – an offer Pacino couldn’t refuse.

The New York native made a fortune with films like “Heat” and “Donnie Brasco”. He said he virtually ignored his finances for most of his career, trusting his accountant to manage his money. Finally, in 2011, when he had just returned from an extravagant family vacation in Europe, he looked through his books and was surprised to find that he was richer than before he left.

Several more red flags eventually led him to an accountant who told him he believed his current accountant was an “arrogant fraud.”

“I was broke,” Pacino wrote. “I had $50 million and then I had nothing. I had property, but I had no money.”

He added: “There’s almost nothing worse for a famous person – being dead and then broke.”

Pacino said he was way too loose with his wallet: “The kind of money I spent and where it went was just a crazy losing montage. The door was wide open and people I didn’t know were alive.” It was “Come one, come all!”

“Even though I only had two cars, I somehow paid for 16 and 23 cell phones that I didn’t know about,” he added. “The landscaper was paid $400,000 a year, and mind you, that was for landscaping a house I didn’t even live in.”

“It was just a matter of: Let’s keep this stupid actor happy, just let him work, and we’ll reap the rewards.”

Pacino said he ignored his finances because he thought they were too difficult to understand and because he felt he was too old and didn’t have the time to understand them.

The movie star had to struggle to stay afloat. He said he sold one of his two homes, sold coffee after previously refusing to advertise, attended seminars that helped him cover his monthly bills and appeared in a film called “Jack and Jill.” starred with Adam Sandler because “they paid me.” a lot for it.”

Around the same time, he wrote, he learned that his former accountant had been arrested, charged with running a Ponzi scheme and sentenced 7 ½ years in prison.

Many athletes, actors, musicians and other celebrities have made and lost huge amounts of money. The list includes singer Michael Jackson, boxer Mike Tyson, rapper 50 Cent, soccer star Diego Maradona and basketball icon Dennis Rodman.

People who make enormous gains at a relatively young age and are unfamiliar with wealth tend to have a higher risk of experiencing financial problems.

“I don’t mind a little ice,” basketball legend Charles Barkley said on a May episode of the “Club Shay Shay” podcast, referring to young athletes’ spending, “but too much ice, they have Dior shoes. “

“You know,” he added, “that the money won’t last forever, right?”