Unlikely action star Nicolas Cage, 45, owes over $6.3 million in back taxes to the US government. He wasn’t involved in some tax scam, like Wesley Snipes, it just sounds like he is seriously overextended. Cage owns luxury properties throughout the world, including a castle in England, a 40 acre island in the Bahamas, and homes in Rhode Island, Lousiana, Nevada, and California. He recently sold a castle in Germany. Real estate has proven a lousy investment lately, and Cage has taken a serious hit. The US Government has placed a $6.3 million lien on his property, most of which is for sale, to collect unpaid taxes dating back to 2007. He has also defaulted on a $2 million bank loan:
On screen, he has battled everything from hardened convicts to vast conspiracies. Now Nicolas Cage is tangling with what may prove to be his toughest foe: the IRS.
The government has placed a tax lien on his vast real estate holdings because of $6 million in unpaid back taxes dating from 2007, the year of the 45-year-old actor’s box office hits Ghost Rider and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, according to court papers.
In addition, the Internal Revenue Service has yet another lien for over $350,000 in unpaid taxes dating from 2002 to 2004.
The larger tax lien, which was first filed in July, comes as Cage has begun liquidating his many legendary multimillion-dollar properties. He sold his castle in Germany, and has placed on the market his homes in California, Las Vegas, and New Orleans.
Cage is dealing with more than the tax collector. East West Bank filed a breach of contract complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming he had failed to repay a $2 million loan that was extended this past August.
His reps didn’t immediately comment.
[From People]
I kind of find it fascinating when people who have more money than entire municipalities somehow manage to squander it all away on crap they’ll never need or use. Michael Jackson was a prime example of this, with his exotic animal zoo, amusement park, and all the strange, useless expensive junk he collected. His estate was said to have been worth 1/2 a billion when he died, but he was living in a rented home and training rigorously for a series of concerts he probably never would have agreed to if he had money saved. In Cage’s case he collected property and it lost value. Maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation if he would have taken a pass on a house or two.
My husband can’t stand Nicolas Cage and will find some schadenfreude in this news. Cage doesn’t really register for me and I find him kind of harmless, but my husband calls him “a talentless arrogant actor” who is decent at action films, but “sucks when playing character roles.” I thought he was ok in those National Treasure movies, which are enjoyable enough historical fluff. Whether Cage’s acting is worth tens of millions of dollars is up to question, but his films make bank.
According to IMDB, Cage has four films coming out next year, one in 2011, and five in development. He’ll manage to pay off the IRS if he can downsize a little. The spoiled, arrogant jerk. (That was for you, honey.)
Nicolas Cage is shown at a press conference for Bad Lieutenant in Toronto on 9/15/09. Credit: WENN.com
The Family of Man, in descending order of creepiness:
(Picture text book charts of Homo Sapien, Neanderthal, etc.)
Michael Jackson
Nicolas Cage
David Letterman
I have never understood why celebrities feel the need to own multiple houses throughout the world. Rather than paying for all the upkeep, etc, I imagine it would be far easier to rent out a whole hotel or something like that while traveling. Then again, I am not rich.
Doesn’t surprise me about Cage. Have you ever seen some of this stuff this guys buys???
What an idiot.
I guess Nicholas did it for investment since he has so many homes. That obviously didn’t work out. Other stars do spend a lot of time in their second/third homes so it makes sense to buy. The difference between Michael and Nicholas is that Michael has a music catalogue that is worth hundreds of millions. I’m sure he didn’t want to sell it so he went into debt. But he could afford to go into debt because of his music, if that makes sense. Nicholas doesn’t have that kind of collateral.
I totally agree with your husband. I hate Nick Cage. He’s my husband’s favorite actor. Go figure.
I thought he was excellent in Leaving Las Vegas.
Okay, that was a long time ago, but he was good in the movie.
He certainly makes a lot of large purchases. One of his biggest is the girl he married when she was 21. I’m sure that was for love.
I think he’s a great actor who wastes his abilities in crappy movies (with a few exceptions, of course). As for his money troubles, he’s not getting any sympathy from me. What a dumbass.
Agree w Firestarter. Leaving LV was good. but then I thought Face Off was good. (Not good enough to watch twice.) You’d think he could tap Lisa Marie for some money…play a nostalgia card. I’m sure 6 or 7 mil is nothing to her.
hmm my comment got swallowed. Basically, I agree with your husband, CB. He plays slow-witted sluggards in mostly “guy movies”.
I have always thought he has one of the ugliest mugs in showbusiness, and it only works in drama, where his talents really do shine. HOWEVER, he keeps making terrible movie choices, like fat elvis said, because they pay more because they are expected to be blockbusters. but he is anything but leading man in an adventure/action movie material, and never comes across as believable (maybe in the Rock he did) and always seems miscast. I know he is trying to make as much $$ as possible, but I think he has hurt himself with his lame movie choices, which do worse than expected at the box office.
Hey I love Nic Cage. But alas, my man doesn’t feel the same also……And his son looked eerily like my man when he was 15…hmmm
Another child of a Hollywood family who has no education or ever had a real job. I don’t remember who his parents are though. Anyone know?
Hogdriver:
Far as I know, his parents are non celebs, but his father and Francis Ford Coppola are brothers.
He dropped the Coppola name and took “Cage” instead, in honor of a dance choreographer. Go figure.
Didn’t he own a castle somewhere?
How exactly does one go about buying property after property (including castles) if you owe millions to the IRS? I could see this coming though, he’s been trying to sell stuff off for a while.
I have no sympathy for people like this, who not only make huge amounts of money but also have the potential to make a lot more, but don’t bother to pay their bills, their taxes, etc. And no sympathy for those unable to manage their huge amounts of money. If you’re not capable, hire a professional to tell you what you can and can’t buy.
I don’t like him, but he makes fun movies. Let’s get real, though. He made investment choices that was thought to be wise at the time, but is considered bad today, so he is now in debt. Just few years back, real estate was the 21st century equivalent to gold, i.e., the safest kind of investment. With the bubble burst, it’s not so, but he is not the only “stupid” person to have overinvested in real estimate over the years. There are a lot of professional flippers who are in trouble today because of the real estate market depression.
As for giving him loan, why not? He has tangible properties that can be used as collateral and that a bank can put lien on in case of default, therefore Cage would be actually considered pretty safe place to lend to.
Besides, celebrities are IRS’ favorite target for back tax collection and/or tax evasion. Unlike crooked CEOs and trust fund babies, their income is relatively transparaent and they rarely are able to hide their money away in overseas tax shelters like the true super rich, the Fords, the Bushes, the Rockefellers.
Firestarter wrote: ‘I thought he was excellent in Leaving Las Vegas.”
I couldn’t agree more, he was fantastic. I also loved him in Moonstruck.
That being said, it never ceases to amaze me how people blow through that kind of $$. Like Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, etc. Don’t they have financial managers?
Raising Arizona. Classic. Peggy Sue got Married. Classic. Moonstruck. Classic. Valley Girl. Classic. Rumble fish. Classic. Racing with the moon. Classic. Zandalee. Soft porn classic. 8mm. Classic. Honeymoon in Vegas. Classic. Bringing out the dead. Classic. This dude is an Oscar winner and probably better at his job than most who are deriding him here are at their jobs. Who cares if he can’t handle his money. That’s his own problem.