6. Willie Nelson: IRS Debt
In 1990, Willie Nelson had his entire fortune seized in six states due to a debt of $32 million in unpaid tax bills. The country music superstar blamed the disaster on bad advice from his accountants and mismanaged earnings, but even after the IRS seized his assets, he still had debts of $16.7 million—including $10.2 million in penalties and interest.
In 1993, Nelson finally was able to settle the debt for $9 million—about $3 million had already been paid off. Shortly after, the singer recorded the album known as “The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories.” Basically, he did that to help pay off the rest of the debt.
The IRS only collected about $3.5 million from album sales, but Nelson managed to pay off the rest within a few years. The singer now has a fortune of $25 million. Let’s hope he has learned from his mistakes and is now paying his taxes.
