Category: How They Lost Their Fortune

When you become millionaires from one day to the next anything can happen. That’s what happened to Petra and Hans-Joachim (known as Achim) Bubert from Schleswig-Holstein. In 1994 Achim filled out a lottery ticket and won eight million Deutsch marks (about $4.7 million).

Nearly 25 years, later nothing is left of this profit except the memory. The former winner describes the path from being a millionaire back to everyday life with sadness. In his words:

“If you get rich in one fell swoop, everyone suddenly gets in touch. But if you feel bad later, there is no one left.”

This was the comment of the winner, who the media currently refers to as “Lotto Achim.” In his own opinion, he largely lost his fortune due to his generosity.

Lotto Prize of Almost $5 million

Achim Bubert is now 55 years old. He lives with his wife Petra in Rönnau in Schleswig-Holstein. There they lived before their unexpected wealth and remained doing so after the big win. This may have been their first mistake and the beginning of the end of their millions. As “Lotto-Achim” says, they simply gave away $3.5 million.

Many former friends and neighbors contacted him when they found out that he won the jackpot. Everyone had their own worries and wishes. Now that he is in trouble, however, he finds there’s no one there to pay him back for his generosity.

Before winning the lottery, Achim was working as a freelance carpenter. His wife is a trained hairdresser. They lived from hand-to-mouth. Then they became millionaires.

And now they are back at the beginning. It’s not hard to see the mistakes they made. Family members and acquaintances received $2.2 million in the first weeks. Wife Petra speaks openly:

“Of course, I wanted to boast a bit: Look, we are rich!”

But now it’s all gone and giving the money away, poorly investing it, and using it up cost them almost 8 million Deutsch marks. Meanwhile, their accounts are blocked and frozen funds. The couple now lives from the income of their own fishing shop.

These Mistakes Cost “Lotto Achim” His Fortune

First of all, moving is sometimes not the worst idea. However, many winners cannot imagine a new beginning far from their friends and family. Staying where all know each other is sometimes difficult. Because either the news spreads fast about the lottery profit or it is very hard to hide it. Spouses Bubert told acquaintances and friends about their happiness to share the joys associated with it.

No one could have foreseen the consequences in advance. If the Buberts were too stingy with their money, they were threatened with “visit from the Belarusians.” They were even threatened to have their children abducted or their animals tortured.

Even their marriage was facing in problems because the parents of “Lotto Achim” wanted to turn him against his wife. Later, the couple saved their marriage only because the wife entrusted her diaries to her husband. She even described suicidal thoughts.

Their children became targets at school. Their peers insulted them as the “lotto pigs.” Meanwhile, Achim committed more financially momentous mistakes.

The 2008 economic crisis and unskillful dealings with real estate lead to further disappearing of the money. The specially-built fish shop did not bring the desired success, and their employees were stealing unrestrained. Already in 2009, the two published a book titled “Mit dem Geld Kamen die Tränen” (With Money Comes Tears).

What has remained of the profit? In 2018, the lottery millionaires are left only with their house with the attached paddock and a less profitable fishing shop.

Therefore, the two now want to become YouTube stars and so refill their accounts. They boasted about their millions and told too many people about it.

A Bag of Cement

The fishing shop with 7,000 square-meter property, which also includes a recording studio, is one of the “concrete gold” items that the Bubert still have. Because his passion is music, his most recent song is simply called: “A bag of cement.”

Petra and Achim now want to become YouTube superstars. They recorded their songs in their in-house recording studio in Schleswig-Holstein. Now, the Buberts hope to be discovered on YouTube and become stars.

Images via Facebook – Achim Bubert.

When it came to knocking out chumps in rapid succession, not many could match legendary heavyweight boxer “Iron” Mike Tyson. When it came to knocking out checks, he was just as prolific. At one point in time, Mike had $300 million in the bank and is said to have earned $400 million in total. But he blew it all in spectacular fashion.

From fleets of luxury vehicles and entourages larger than the population of Luxembourg to Siberian tigers running around the garden and harems of hookers chillin’ back in the 21-bedroom crib, there are not many things Mike didn’t sample at the peak of his prowess.

From Humble Beginnings to the Top of the World

Flamboyant soul music singer Rick James once said: “Cocaine is one hell of a drug.” The same could be said of money and fame. What normal person goes from having $300 million in the bank to almost $50 million in debt in just over 10-years? The answer? No normal person.

Mike Tyson is arguably ranked in the top-15 heavyweight boxers to ever step foot into the gladiatorial arena, but he’s ranked much higher in the pound-for-pound spectacular spending stakes.

Mike went from an impoverished upbringing in late-1970s brutal Brownsville, New York, to becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time, a household name and the most feared man on Planet Earth. He did all this before his 22nd birthday. He simply didn’t have the tools or coping mechanisms to deal with such attention, fame or money.

Spending Millions the Mike Tyson Way

From his professional boxing debut in 1985 until shockingly losing his title to Buster Douglas in 1990, life for Mike Tyson was going well by his own standards. Then it all started to go downhill.

Less than a year after losing his world title, Mike was accused of raping Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years’ prison time. He still denies the charges today.

When Mike was released from prison in 1995, after serving four years, he had a reported $300 million dollars in the bank to smoothen his transition back into normal life. As normal as Tyson could have. Here is a list of Mike’s spending habits in the first 33-months after being released from prison:

• $4.5 million on cars and motorbikes (19 vehicles he bought for friends)
• $100,000 per month on jewelry and clothes
• $400,000 on pigeons and a variety of big cats such as Siberian tigers
• $125,000 per year for an animal trainer to take care of the big cats
• $240,000 per month for walking around money that he spent in daily life flexing
• $300,000 on lawn care and garden maintenance alone
• $230,000 on cell phones, pagers, and phone bills

Houses, Vehicles, and Madness

During this time period, Mike also bought a 21-bedroom/24-bathroom mansion in Connecticut with an on-site casino and a nightclub. He also purchased estates in Maryland, Las Vegas, and Ohio, where he had gold-plated furnishings and a basketball court.

He is said to have purchased 111 cars in his lifetime. At his peak, he owned a limited edition Bentley Continental SC that cost $500,000 and was one of only 73 ever made.

He owned several Ferraris, Lamborghinis, a Range Rover, a Mercedes-Benz 500 and a 1995 Rolls Royce which he later totaled in an accident and left at Tops-Auto garage and told them to keep it.

He routinely lent friends his cars and forgot where he’d put them. He would send his employees out to find the estranged automobiles he borrowed to people that he couldn’t remember. It was like bounty hunting for vehicles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsLE9vE1kpY

Other Notable Purchases

In his autobiography, Mike told the story of how he once found tens of thousands of dollars he had stashed two years previous in his laundry basket. Apparently, his crew would scramble to take Mike’s clothes to the launderette after that episode.

Perhaps the most ridiculous purchase Mike ever made was a Christmas gift for his first wife Robin Givens. He bought her a golden bathtub for $2 million. Thank god it wasn’t a golden shower!

The spending sprees and stories are endless. Devilish promoters such as Don King also had their pound of flesh from Tyson, alongside lots of other bloodsuckers. But he is adamant that it was all his fault. And that he had a great time regardless.

Mike Tyson filed for bankruptcy in 2007, but he will never be truly broke or homeless. Even today he’s still known the world over and never fails to pique the interest of people young and old alike in a brutal, barbaric, sometimes beautiful, yet always compelling way.

Featured image from Celebrity Pet-Worth

Ex-professional football player and Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth was released from the Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, North Carolina yesterday having served an 18-year-sentence for conspiracy to murder his then-girlfriend and mother of his child Cherica Adams.

As Carolina’s first pick of the 1997 draft, Carruth showed great promise in his career and was picked by the Carolina Panthers, going on to sign a $3.7 million deal with the team, as well as receiving a $1.3 million signing bonus.

Wearing the uniform number 89, during the 1997 season, he clocked up some 44 passes in his name, as well as 545 yards and four touchdowns. In 1998, Carruth sat most of the season out after breaking his foot, finishing with a total of four catches in 59 yards. In 1999, he caused a stir during the first six games, totaling 14 catches in 200 yards.

And then things started to go downhill.

Conspiracy to Murder

In 2001, Rae Carruth was found guilty of conspiring to murder his pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams. Adams, who died one month later, was shot four times by Watkins, a man Carruth hired to carry out the killing.

Carruth had engineered the plan, stopping his own vehicle in front of Adams’ after the couple returned from watching a movie, allowing Watkins to pull alongside and carry out the shooting.

While Watkins was sentenced to 40 years for the murder, Carruth was given a lighter sentence of 18-24 years for the conspiracy.

Carruth left the state penitentiary in silence wearing a knitted cap and light jacket to muted applause. He got into a white SUV and promptly left the scene.

What’s Next for Rae Carruth?

The ex-footballer will now serve a nine-month parole program and will need special permission to leave the country during this time. After nine months, he will be free to move about as he pleases.

One question many people will be asking is whether Carruth will want to visit his son Chancellor Lee Adams, who survived the shooting back in 2001 and is now 18 years old.

Chancellor Lee suffers from cerebral palsy. The unborn child survived the shooting, but the loss of oxygen and blood caused him permanent brain damage. He has been raised by Cherica’s mother Saundra Adams since birth.

Carruth repeatedly wants a relationship with his son and is truly repentant for his actions. He said in a telephone interview with WSOC-TV in Charlotte:

“I just truly want to be forgiven.”

He also admitted to feeling a little frightened at the prospect of his release, saying:

“I’m nervous just about how I’ll be received by the public. I still have to work. I still have to live. I have to exist out there and it just seems like there is so much hate and negativity toward me.”

Featured image from Fox News.

Everyone loves a good rags-to-riches tale, but nothing is more intriguing than watching a Greek tragedy unfold before your very eyes. Famed hip-hop producer Scott Storch was once at the pinnacle of the rap game. Within a few short years proceeding his prime, the producer had hit rock bottom and lost his $100 million fortune (and nearly his mind) in the process.

For most fledgling hip-hop beat-makers, helping Dr. Dre to create the classic Chronic 2001 album would be the highlight of their career. But that was just the beginning for the then-mercurial keyboard player and wannabe rap producer from Philadelphia.

Hip-Hop Royalty

Storch created and played the famous piano hook on the worldwide Dr. Dre hit-single “Still Dre,” alongside other melodic hooks right across the critically acclaimed album. But he didn’t stop there. Over the next several years, the producer became hip-hop royalty and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest beat-makers of all time.

Over the course of his heyday between 2001 to 2007, Scott Storch commanded $100,000 per beat and was regarded as the hottest producer in the game. Artists lined up to give Storch checks when his gravy train was in full swing.

He worked with the likes of Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Fat Joe, 50-Cent, Chris Brown, Erykah Badu, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, The Game, and many more. His signature piano sounds and melodies are still etched into the fabrics of 2000s hip-hop and helped the funky white boy amass over $100 million in royalties.

The problem was that this funky white boy began liking the white powder more than his Akai sampler and drum machines.

The Fallen Scott Storch Empire

In the early-2000s, Scott Storch lived in a stunning palatial sea-view mansion on Miami’s exclusive Palm Island at the peak of his career, which he referred to as the ‘Hit Factory.’ The house was worth $10 million at the time and was recently purchased by another rap music mogul, Birdman, for a cool $20 million.

At the pinnacle of his success, Storch was taking ballin’ to unprecedented levels and might have even helped to coin the slang phrase. He owned a $10 million 117-foot superyacht and a stunning collection of 15 rare and collectible cars, including a $740,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible.

But as the white powder intake increased, so did Storch’s erratic decision-making as the producer simply kept buying lavish things he didn’t need.

Talking about his high times in a Details Magazine interview, Storch said:

“We’d be at the club [in Miami] and I’d decide to take everyone to Las Vegas [on my private jet]. Do more coke, f—k a bunch of girls. Be up for two days and decide at 11 in the morning to go buy a Rolls-Royce. I probably bought 10 cars when I was high.”

Rumored to have bedded a litany of A-list celebrities from the 2000s such as Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and Lil Kim, Storch stopped making beats while still reportedly paying $1 million per month on maintaining his lifestyle. Storch also reportedly blew $30 million in just six-months on partying with some of the most famous celebrities in the world.

Life for the producer started to go downhill fast.

By 2009, it had become apparent that Scott Storch was having real problems. Not only was he hampered by drug usage, but also in regards to paying bills. His $100 million fortune was already gone and he was waking up in a $10 million mansion with no electricity because he couldn’t afford to pay the bill.

Storch had to reevaluate life and in recent years has turned his situation around. Returning to producing records and now off drugs, aside from his monumental marijuana consumption, Scott Storch is now in a happy place.

Even though he lost his $100 million fortune, he still lives a relatively wealthy life due to his ongoing royalty and publishing payments from his classic hits, so don’t shed any tears for Scotty, he’s probably not driving around in a wreck.

Featured image from Billboard.

Everyone loves a good old-fashioned rags-to-riches story. But you know what they relish even more? When the riches turn back to rags. There’s something so deliciously satisfying about wealthy people falling from grace, especially when they do it in a spectacular way like Einar Aas.

Einar Aas was one of Europe’s biggest energy traders for almost 20 years. He was Norway’s highest paying taxpayer in 2016. Last month, his trading positions were liquidated after one bet too many.

Einar Aas Was Norway’s Biggest Trader

Einer Aas was Norway’s biggest trader for almost two decades, seeing significant success in the power markets. He was also a staunchly private person to the point of paranoia. Aas bought a large house on the water in Grimstad, three hours south of Oslo. He then set about building properties around his own to further protect his privacy. Making small talk with neighbors was not part of Aas’ routine.

Yet Einer Aas was well-known in trading circles. His name, that is, not his face. Unlike plenty of other uber-wealthy traders, Aas was also known as a phantom trader on the circuit. He didn’t attend any trader meetings or industry conferences. He wasn’t in the public eye. And he never gave an interview.

He didn’t gad about town lavishly spending his wins. He simply amassed his fortune betting on Nordic power from his own seaside home surrounded by empty buildings.

Einar Aas Early Days

A straight-A student, it was evident from early on that Aas was going to be a success. In fact, he was described in his school yearbook as the “bookmaker of the class.” According to Bloomberg, he was also known for his love of gambling, frequently betting on horses and playing poker.

He graduated from Norway’s top business school, the Norwegian School of Economics, whose elite alumni include the CEO of energy company Equinor ASA, and Head of Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund.

Aas broke into the world of trading as a risk manager for Interkraft Trading, where he was able to marry his passions for numbers with his lust for gambling. With unwavering dedication, Aas soon became the company’s best trader before leaving to set up his own energy company with three colleagues.

He then established a private investment company with just 250 000 NOK in initial capital. Aas then traded in his name directly as of 2005.

His old boss at Interkraft said that Aas was always the first person in the office and that he had a very good understanding of the relationship between risk and return.

Making Big Investments

Aas is best known for trading in the Nordic power market, but he also invested a significant amount in property as his fortune grew. He bought a luxury apartment in one of Oslo’s most exclusive waterfront districts.

Despite energy markets taking a pummeling around the world in recent years, Aas rolled with the punches, posting a total taxable income of 3.5 billion kroner ($420 million) since 2002. After an exceptionally profitable year in 2016, he became Norway’s highest individual taxpayer of the year. Tax records are public property in this Nordic country.

Things couldn’t get better for the man with the Midas touch and he was known by his peers for taking the biggest and best bets in the market.

A Gamble that Didn’t Pay Off

Last month, Aas took one gamble too many and it would be his last as a trader. The 47-year-old was expelled from the Nasdaq after racking up losses of hundreds of millions of euros. It seems that Einer Aas miscalculated the risk/return ratio on this occasion, betting that the spread between the German and Nordic power would narrow. It didn’t.

Instead, carbon emission allowances went on a bull run pushing up the German energy market, and poor weather forecasts pummeled the Nordic market.

In a statement to Norway’s Dagens Naeringsliv, he admitted to taking a position that was simply too big in relation to the liquidity in the market. After massive adjustments in prices in both the German and Nordic contracts, Aas was forced to pay out his last free liquid funds to the exchange. But it wasn’t enough.

On Tuesday, September 11 Aas was declared in default and placed under administration. His portfolio was liquidated the next day.

The Nasdaq called it a true “Black Swan event.” Aas’ fall from grace isn’t just a blow to the former multimillionaire but also for the stock exchange who bought the market in 2010 in a bid to move into commodities.

The world’s oldest power market used to be the pinnacle of electricity trading. Today it is at its lowest level since 1999. An aging and weak market mourning the loss of one of its biggest traders.

But How Was This Possible in the First Place?

In normal circumstance, traders are overseen by a clearer, otherwise known as a guarantor of trades. Aas had none. A clearer could have acted as the safeguard to stopping his bets earlier by demanding collateral.

The absence of this key safeguard is now a question that Nasdaq Clearing will have to answer. How was Aas allowed to operate outside the usual trading protocols?

Furthermore, it isn’t only the Nasdaq who had to front the loss. Other clearing members including brokerages, banks, and utilities had to step in to top up Nasdaq’s default fund to cover Aas’ losses of over 100 million euros.

A temporary Junior Capital facility was set up to help replenish the fund with around 19 million euros and, in fact, by the following Monday morning, almost 90% of the lost funds had already been replaced.

The world of energy trading in Norway will carry on without the phantom trader whose extravagant bets will be missed. As will his fat tax contributions in the seaside town of Grimstad.

And as for Aas? One can’t help but imagine him coming to terms with his losses as only he would. Alone. Staring out at the waterfront, sipping on Akvavit and wondering what gamble he’ll take on next.

Images from Shutterstock.