Ed McMahon facing foreclosure

[Mamaw]

My opnion is having him on all the shows first to show to those who are losing their houses don't feel bad even this rich man is losing his. Second I think they are hoping a lot of people will help him out but who is going to help all who are not famous and losing theirs.

[rob62521]

Mamaw -- apparently someone is going to help him out. Saw a newsclip saying since the news broadcast his troubles, he said people were calling asking how they could help. I guess that's great for him if they truly do, but what about everyone else who is in trouble? Or wait, isn't that what the government is for -- bailing out those who need help with their mortgages?

More importantly, if Ed does get help and keeps his house, will he and wifey learn from their mistakes and be better with money?

[Mamaw]

You said what I was trying to say ever so much better.

[markusk]

Back in the day, there use to be a joke/saying...

There are only 3 "sure" things in life: Death, taxes, and a letter from Ed McMahon (Publisher's Clearing House give-away).

It IS sad....

[m3racer]

Classic UAW, according to "The Millionaire Next Door."

[moneybags]

Looks like he was living (big) paycheck to (big) paycheck. He should have been prepared for retirement at his age, especially in the finicky industry he is in.

[rob62521]

The newsclip did quote the wife saying they had made mistakes handling their money so I guess that is something. I agree, though, he should have been better prepared. I would hate to "have" to work to make my commitments, especially when he made big money all those years.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Originally Posted by m3racer

Classic UAW, according to "The Millionaire Next Door."

What is this UAW?

[noppenbd]

UAW=under accumulator of wealth, as contrasted with a PAW=prodigious accumulator of wealth.

The authors of TMND figured out a formula that your net worth should be at least equal to your income times your age divided by 10. So at age 30, your net worth should be 3X your income, at 40, 4X, etc. I think PAWs were defined to be well above this rule of thumb, with UAWs well below. They found UAWs and PAWs at every income level (doctors with 0 or negative net worth, and people making $40K a year that had over a million dollars NW).

[QueenOphelia]

A friend of mine worked for him in the '90s on a Star Search type show down in Orlando. Ed stiffed him for almost 3k in salary.

My friend said Ed had a lot of "issues" and paying people was one of them.

[jasonl417]

Yeah It is definitely ashamed that he didn't have more cash reserves. He seems like a really nice man.

[brig2221]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I heard on the news this morning that Ed McMahon, long-time co-host of the Tonight Show, is facing foreclosure of his multimillion dollar mansion. It really goes to show that financial problems and poor money management plague people of all incomes. Here's a guy whose career spans 6 or 7 decades and has probably earned tens or hundreds of millions over his lifetime who is now in his 80s and can't make his mortgage payments. The report blamed it on the fact that he got injured last year and has been unable to work. So what? What happened to all of his money? Does he have no savings? Has he no disability insurance? Why does a guy in his 80s still have a mortgage anyway?

I read a really good article on CNN Today written by Glenn Beck. I was reading some of the web comments that people can leave on the article, and someone mentioned that he has been married 3-4 times.

Apparrently California has some pretty strict divorce laws where spouses automatically get 50% of the estate.

No matter what, he should still have money. That said, if he has been divorced 2-3 times over the years, that most likely means that his fortune was also halved that many times as well, considerably lowering the amount of money he otherwise would have.

Certainly not an excuse in any way for him, but something to think about.

Edit: Here is the CNN Link to the Glenn Beck article I was referring to. Very well writen and hits the nail on the head if you ask me. Commentary: McMahon shouldn't be the face of foreclosure - CNN.com

[disneysteve]

That's a great article and provides a lot of detail that was missing when I started this thread.

He bought the home 18 years ago and yet still owes $5 million. " like so many other Americans, McMahon used his home as an ATM over the years." So he bought a home that was probably within his means at the time but proceeded to suck out the equity as prices climbed to spend on who knows what.

Now, he has it on the market (for two years now, I believe) with a current asking price of $6.25 million, which is $1.25 million more than he owes. How many regular folks are in the same situation. Crying that they can't sell their house but asking a ridiculous price given current conditions. If he wants to sell, probably all he needs to do is knock $1 million off the price. He'd still get enough to pay off his loan and sale costs and be done with the problem. He could then take that $5 million and buy a nice little cottage somewhere.

[moneybags]

Originally Posted by brig2221

That said, if he has been divorced 2-3 times over the years, that most likely means that his fortune was also halved that many times as well, considerably lowering the amount of money he otherwise would have.

Well he should have figured out that marriage wasn't a good investment for him after the 2nd time. Also, could the halves be avoided with a pre-nup?

[gamecock43]

If only he had been a member of this Forum. He could have been the next Donald Trump.

ok, i am just getting around to reading about poor ed, and came across this responce ....

I wonder if we DO have hollywood celebrities on this forum???

I can see Hollywood celebrity financial advisors, accountants, managers, ect on this forum....but do we have any of the celebrities?

People who take an interest in their own money, don't trust/pay someone to handle it for them?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I don't think any true celebrities would reveal themselves as such on these forums. (And I'm not going to sign any autographs --if that is why you are asking. )

[gamecock43]

yeah, i didnt expect anyone to volunteer themselves up to the massive amount of questions they would inevitably get, but I am wondering if we 'think' there are celebrities on this forum.
~Like if a poster started a thread discussing something kind of unusual like "If one was to suddenly make 10 million dollars but wanted to donate all of it to charity...yada..." well, that would perk my curiosity.
I have only seen this forum about 6-7 months now and have never seen any 'celebrity' like -talk, but maybe others have who have monitored this forum longer have.

[sweeps]

Poor Ed.
Citibank sues Ed McMahon for outstanding debts - Yahoo! News