Went Bankrupt, Now Worth Millions!
Hello Everyone,
With this so called Recession, thousands of people are going bankrupt everyday and at the lowest point ever! Today’s list is to show you guys that although times are tough and you think you have lots everything and your to old to have another chance, well your wrong!
I was once told that you arn’t a true entrepreneur if you haven’t gone bankrupt at least once! Well Walt Disney shows us how its done, he was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
It is also noteable that I have included the founder of Penthouse and the blogger Perez Hilton both web entrepreneurs! The difference between them and the others on the list is that their money is new money, made in the last 10 years! If you would like to follow in their foot steps then check out my FREE 7 day eCourse to making money online!
30 Entrepreneurs Who Went Bankrupt
| Name | Birthdate | Profession | Bankruptcy Date | Eventual Net Worth |
|
Henry Ford
![]() |
July 30, 1863 | Founder of Ford Motor | 1903 | $188,000,000,000 |
|
Donald Trump
|
June 14, 1946 | Real Estate Developer | 1990 | $3,000,000,000 |
|
Walt Disney
|
December 5, 1901 | Founder of Disney | 1921 | $1,100,000,000 |
|
Anna Nicole Smith
|
November 28, 1967 | Model, Actress | 1996 | $450,000,000 |
|
H.J. Heinz
|
October 11, 1844 | Founder of Heinz | 1875 | $400,000,000 |
|
George Foreman
|
January 5, 1949 | Boxer/Grill Spokesman | 1983 | $300,000,000 |
|
Bob Guccione
|
December 17, 1930 | Founder of Penthouse | 2003 | $400,000,000 |
|
Kim Basinger
|
December 8, 1953 | Actress | 1993 | $250,000,000 |
|
Clarence Saunders
|
August 9, 1881 | Founder of Piggly Wigglies (Now Safeway) | 1922 | $180,000,000 |
|
Milton Hershey
|
September 13, 1857 | Founder of Hershey | 1880 | $150,000,000 |
|
Larry King
|
November 19, 1933 | News Anchor | 1978 | $144,000,000 |
|
William C. Durant
|
December 8, 1861 | Founder of General Motors and Chevrolet | 1936 | $120,000,000 |
|
Ulysses S. Grant
|
April 27, 1822 | President | 1881 | $95,100,000 |
|
Francis Ford Coppola
|
April 7, 1939 | Film Director | 1990 | $67,400,000 |
|
Isaac Hayes
|
August 20, 1942 | Singer, Actor | 1976 | $50,000,000 |
|
MC Hammer
|
March 30, 1962 | Rapper | 1996 | $33,000,000 |
|
Wayne Newton
|
April 3, 1942 | Singer, Actor | 1992 | $30,000,000 |
|
Burt Reynolds
|
February 11, 1936 | Actor | 1996 | $30,000,000 |
|
P.T. Barnum
|
July 5, 1810 | Showman |
1856
|
$25,000,000 |
|
Mick Fleetwood
|
June 24, 1947 | Musician, Activist |
1984
|
$25,000,000 |
|
Randy Quaid
|
October 1, 1950 | Actor |
2000
|
$25,000,000 |
|
Stan Lee
|
December 28, 1922 | Founder of Marvel |
2000
|
$20,000,000 |
|
Abraham Lincoln
|
February 12, 1809 | President |
1833
|
$18,400,000 |
|
John Connally
|
February 27, 1917 | Govenor of Texas |
1988
|
$11,000,000 |
|
Heidi Fleiss
|
December 30, 1965 | Hollywood Madame |
1998
|
$10,000,000 |
|
Perez Hilton
|
March 23, 1978 | Blogger |
2005
|
$10,000,000 |
|
Buffalo Bill
|
February 26, 1846 | Showman |
1913
|
$8,000,000 |
|
William McKinley
|
January 29, 1843 | President |
1893
|
$7,500,000 |
|
Jerry Lee Lewis
|
September 29, 1935 | Singer, Songwriter, Pianist |
1988
|
$5,000,000 |
|
Benedict Arnold
|
January 14, 1741 | Major General |
1779
|
$2,500,000 |
To our success in 2009,
Michael Dunlop
PS. What are you doing to beat this recession?






53 comments so far… Leave a reply
Online marketing
April 3, 2009 9:16 AM
Learning from mistakes and growing from them is the best thing you can do. You cant be successful with out failing at least once.
Sumit Shah
April 3, 2009 9:32 AM
What an inspiring blog! Loved it. Though i dont wish to be bankrupt but yes i definitely want to reach the top. Good Great Work Micheal
Nikolai
April 3, 2009 9:35 AM
Very interesting to see some of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time, such as Henry Ford, on this list. It proves that you can become rich no matter what, just like these people did. Thanks for taking the time to write this Michael! :)
Stuart Wooster
April 3, 2009 9:45 AM
Divorces are a sucker for the money aren't they Burt... He went on to get a Golden Globe Award after though, bet the ex weren't chuffed Hahaha!
Taimur Asad
April 3, 2009 10:25 AM
wooo.. nice list you got there!
Tom Ross
April 3, 2009 12:07 PM
Awesome list! It's great to see the determination of these inspiring entrepreneurs.
Charlie Deann
April 3, 2009 12:51 PM
Wow great list Mike!
GirlieGeek3152
April 3, 2009 12:53 PM
Nice List! And Scary too. You should show this list again on Halloween!
Scott :: IrnMedia.net
April 3, 2009 1:04 PM
Another great list, keep it up!
Eric D. Greene
April 3, 2009 1:04 PM
Interesting list. Some names here I had no idea they were bankrupt at one time! Good post. -Eric
Michael Dunlop
April 3, 2009 1:06 PM
I didn't know some of them went bankrupt either! When I mentioned to my mum that Walt Disney went bankrupt, she said I know, like 6 times!
Lozza
April 3, 2009 1:13 PM
Timely!!! Just what I needed to get me motivated again. "It doesn't matter how many times you fall its how many times you get up that counts." Thanx Guys I am starting to believe again!
Harish
April 3, 2009 1:55 PM
All your lists are Awesome Michael. I am really experiencing the fame the ford company has bought to itself. It has grown a lot in India.
Amulekone
April 3, 2009 2:22 PM
Wow, pretty long list. But thanks for that surely it gives hope to many who has been greatly affected by the economic crisis. it would be nice to know how they made it through the rut. Great post as ever. Thanks
flix4u
April 3, 2009 2:22 PM
Great List and quite motivating. I guess I will file for bankruptcy right away, so I can begin making millions.
Shane - Inspiring your Success
April 3, 2009 3:06 PM
Wow. That is impressive! Some of them managed to get that much money in very little time.
Andy
April 3, 2009 4:28 PM
Wow, awesome post.
Gimme A Dream
April 3, 2009 5:03 PM
Awesome energy in this post. Gives us little guys some hope.
rick
April 3, 2009 5:06 PM
awesome list and makes you realize that no matter what if you are determined you will succeed at the end :)
UtahLuxury.com
April 3, 2009 5:11 PM
Great list! Very inspiring to know that so many fell before they made it.
Yannick
April 3, 2009 6:19 PM
Very cool haha. I think Perez Hilton is just the coolest "thing" on this list. 10 Millions since 2005 .. nice one! :)
Teresa Caldwell
April 3, 2009 6:32 PM
Excellent information, and another lesson, failure is a learning experience, but we should never quit reaching for our dreams.
Jeromy Google Money
April 3, 2009 6:59 PM
Love It! It is interesting, most of these folks, even with bankrupcy, never doubted their success. They took the hardships as just another hurtle. Did you know that "The Kernel" took his Chicken recipe and restraunt proposal idea to bank after bank after bank. He kept getting turned away day after day. Finally a bank took his idea seriously and well, we all know the Kernel now. The mindset that drive these people is described quite well within "think and Grow Rich". " Cheers Micheal! Jeromy (AKA Hillbilly)
Agent 001
April 3, 2009 7:58 PM
Walt Disney and Ford. Really interesting. How do you get these data and how the idea comes to your mind.
Michael Dunlop
April 4, 2009 6:32 PM
A lot of research... actually both of them have something in common with me, both college drop outs, dyslexic and left handed... crazy isn't it!
Went Bankrupt! Now I'm Worth Billions! - Young Entrepreneur Forums
April 3, 2009 8:16 PM
[...] Bankrupt! Now I'm Worth Billions! Hey Guys, I just a great post showing 30 people who went bankrupt and now are worth billions, check it out and If you could, please DIGG and Comment it! Michael __________________ [...]
Widodo
April 3, 2009 9:13 PM
Enjoy your articles as always! There's nothing wrong with being bankrupt as long as we have the gut to rise and fight again.
Michael Dunlop
April 4, 2009 6:32 PM
Never give up! Keep fighting is the key to success!
Mohammad Afaq
April 3, 2009 10:51 PM
I really enjoyed this post and I want to read more from you. I had some question for you though but I will email you that. Great Blog. Mohammad Afaq Free Website Traffic
siraset
April 4, 2009 7:06 AM
good! post
RossStokes
April 4, 2009 7:36 AM
Great list and a indication that great results come from the ability to deal with "failure" and the gifts that we get from those experiences. You tabulated 30 celebrity, high profile examples. They are the tip of a massive iceberg of failure to success stories that are inspiring stories of passion and persistence.
zia
April 4, 2009 7:38 AM
I have no any experiences with both yet, going bankrupty or being a millionaire
DeaElmi
April 4, 2009 2:49 PM
Great post, and useful information. thank you :) Dea
jj-momscashblog
April 4, 2009 6:22 PM
Hey Michael, Great post. It only goes to show me that no matter what happens if you are doing what you really believe in and have a passion for it... and if you fail once, twice, get up and keep on trucking. Thanks for the list also. JJ
Michael Dunlop
April 4, 2009 6:26 PM
Always great to here from you JJ, I hope the momscashblog is going great! Definitly keep getting up, whats the worst that can happen? We end up back being where we are, happy and motivated!
Polymer Business
April 5, 2009 1:38 PM
very inspiring post, love it !
Bob Lawrence
April 5, 2009 8:50 PM
Wow. Where are these net worth facts from? You have got to be kidding me. Not even close.
Garret
April 8, 2009 1:34 AM
It is a great story. I had no idea Perez Hilton was old enough to go broke lol. There are many folks who went from nothing to something. I love the story of JK Rowling (Harry Potter) she was on welfare, single mom ...now...WOW. Never give up on your dreams folks.
Top 30 Dyslexic Entrepreneurs | Income Diary
April 8, 2009 9:24 AM
[...] Disney! Both of them were dyslexic, left handed and college dropouts, the only down sides is they both went bankrupt at somepoint which I hope I [...]
bestpaidsurveyportal
April 10, 2009 1:03 PM
even donald trump bankrupt in 1990..huhu.. wow a billionare always a billionare
David
April 14, 2009 12:11 PM
wohh! awesome post.
Ben
April 28, 2009 1:27 PM
This is very inspiring considering im a student clocking up my student loan debt lol Thanks again
Morgan
May 17, 2009 2:17 PM
I found your great post just when I needed it! We're filing for bankruptcy next week...one of the main reasons is that we can't build any future if we're drowning in debt and trying to live on pennies all the time. Thank you! Morgan, at The Debt Dance.com
baloot
May 23, 2009 7:05 AM
PerezHilton is also in the list. I don't know that he's been bankrupt before become millionaires.. Cheers to PerezHilton! and Micheal too... :D
Tal Fighel
June 7, 2009 7:08 PM
Michael, Great list of people. It is amazing to know that even when you hit rock bottom in life and in business, you can always bounce back and do very very well. Thanks for sharing this amazing list with us. Tal Fighel
Vince Golangco
June 19, 2009 8:08 AM
Love the list.... but not sure if Anna Nicole Smith should be in there.... But I guess "Gold Digging" can be considered an entrepreneurial venture nowadays... haha
YingHang
June 19, 2009 11:20 AM
Donald Trump is my idol!
hassan
October 1, 2009 7:13 AM
hoping wud become millionaire one day like stan lee.lover of spider man
Magson
March 11, 2010 7:00 AM
I was motivated completely by this list. Thanks
Kellie
April 19, 2010 1:28 PM
wow, some real surprises on that list, goes to show there is always hope.
Michael
April 23, 2010 6:18 PM
Great post Michael - here's an interesting fact: the average entrepreneurial millionaire has been broke or nearly broke 3.2 times!!!!!
McKenzie
July 18, 2010 2:34 AM
Going through it right now as an entrepreneur... this blog has been so meaningful to me in so many ways! Hopefully one day I will be added to this list.
Manuel | Income Scene
November 4, 2010 6:50 PM
Going bankrupt is part of the whole success picture. Thanks for this Michael.
The comments are closed.