Is Johnny Depp Bankrupt? If Not, He Sure Seems To Be Working At It [Opinion]


Is Johnny Depp bankrupt? That’s the question fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean star are asking after reports of his reckless spending habits started making headlines.

To answer that question, a few points need to be made. First, as of this writing, Johnny Depp has not legally filed for bankruptcy. So there’s that. Second, filing for bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve gone broke and are living out of your car; it just means that your assets (what’s in your bank account, your investment portfolio, any real estate you own, art and other valuables, etc.) are less than your liabilities (that is, money you owe your creditors). Filing for bankruptcy means any of several different things can happen, from a simple restructuring of your debt to the repo man showing up to take everything and just about everything in between.

Is Johnny Depp bankrupt? Not yet, as far as anyone knows. [Image by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM]

Of course, it’s quite possible to go broke without necessarily going bankrupt. If you have no creditors but no money either, that’s a pretty good sign that you’re broke. Johnny Depp wouldn’t be the first multi-millionaire to go broke, and he won’t be the last.

So let’s look at what we know about Depp’s money vs. his spending and see what conclusions we can draw.

First, Johnny Depp has made hundreds of millions of dollars. He is easily one of the most bankable stars in the entertainment industry, commanding millions (if not tens of millions) per role. For the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise alone, Depp told Vanity Fair in November of 2011 that he made an estimated $300 million. The Richest estimates that his net worth is in the $400 million range.

Of course, making bank is one thing, but keeping it is another. And when you’re a big-deal Hollywood actor, lots of people want a cut of your action. Your agent. Your manager. The tax man. Your security guy. Your publicist.

And your ex-wife. As TMZ reported, Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, cleared a solid $7 million in their divorce.

Johnny Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard took him for $7 million in their divorce. [Image by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for The Art of Elysium]

Now, news has broken that Depp has some unusual spending habits that are cutting deeply into whatever money he has left, according to the Hollywood Gossip. According to legal documents filed by his former management group TMG (whom the actor is suing for purportedly mismanaging his money), Depp blows his money on ridiculous things just as quickly as he can make it.

  • Depp spent $3 million to have the cremated remains of his friend, journalist Hunter S. Thompson (whom Depp played in the movie Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas), blasted out of a giant sky cannon.
  • He’s spent $75 million on 14 residences – 14!
  • He spent $18 million on a luxury yacht.
  • He spends $30,000 per month on wine.
  • According to the Independent, Depp spends $200,000 a month on private planes, $150,000 a month on security, and $300,000 a month to maintain a staff of 40 people.
  • In other words, according Depp’s former managers, “Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today.”

    Before you start feeling too sorry for Johnny Depp, keep in mind that Depp can walk into his agent’s office tomorrow and demand $20 million for his next movie — and get it. Unlike his colleague Nicolas Cage, who also famously went broke blowing money on ridiculousness, any movie that Depp makes isn’t going to go straight to the dollar DVD bin at Walmart.

    In other words, Johnny Depp may be going bankrupt, but he’s unlikely to wind up destitute.

    [Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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