17 Famous People Who Died Practically Penniless

7. Dana Plato

Plato was another one who fell prey to what became known as “the Diff’rent Strokes curse”. After leaving the show, her money was allegedly stolen by a crooked accountant. She subsequently fell into poverty and addiction. And by the time of her death, she lived in a motorhome.

8. Anita Ekberg

In 2011 the aging star of La Dolce Vita made the news. Anita Ekberg, the media said, was living in poverty in Italy. All her riches had been lost to thieves, medical bills and a house fire. She died a few years later of natural causes, aged 83.

9. Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. died of complications from throat cancer in 1990, and he left a whole host of financial difficulties behind him. Due to his reportedly excessive spending habits, he owed more than $5 million to the IRS. As a result, his family had to auction off his possessions to cover the debt.

10. George Best

George Best was one of the most talented footballers that Britain ever saw, but he also had a serious and expensive drink problem. Shortly before his death in 2005, he checked himself into a private clinic. And the hospital ended up providing his treatment for free, because he was completely broke.

11. Glenn Quinn

Glenn Quinn, who starred in Roseanne and Angel, was sadly never able to overcome his substance addiction and it ruined him. Not long before his death, he was thrown out of a rehab center because he was taking drugs on the premises. And when he did pass away, it was in a friend’s house, Quinn having lost his own home years earlier.

12. Joe Louis

Joe Louis was a great boxer, but his downfall was his generosity. According to reports, he even repaid the welfare payments that his family had been given prior to his rise to fame. In the end, however, failed investments ruined him completely, and he was still in debt at the time of his death in 1981.