The New York Times has a voyeuristic article about "Why the Rich Go Broke" that is absolutely fascinating. There are lots of details about particular people, and regarding celebrities and athletes specifically:

"You have people who are struggling for a long time and then overnight, boom, they hit it," says Shelley Finkel, Mike Tyson’s manager. "If they don’t have someone watching out for them, and some emotional stability, it will be very hard for them to be grounded financially."

MR. FINKEL, a genial, elfin 62-year-old New Yorker who began his own career promoting a A-list rock stars like Jimi Hendrix, said he had always advised musicians and athletes to protect their wealth by socking away a chunk of their earnings into annuities or pensions. Few of them have heeded that advice, he said, including Mr. Tyson, who Mr. Finkel believes earned and lost more than $400 million in his boxing career.

"It’s very hard to tell them ‘Don’t!’ because they love the instant gratification," Mr. Finkel says. "I think the human in general is vulnerable and whatever their weakness is it’s going to get exploited, particularly around money."

I enjoyed reading the whole thing... even though I'll probably never be rich, I enjoy knowing that I'm more financially savvy that most of the people who are.

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