Depp’s rich lifestyle burnt hole in pocket
UNITED STATES: With a fortune estimated at £320 million (NZ$556M), Johnny Depp probably felt he could afford to send an old friend off in style.
And as the originator of gonzo journalism, Hunter S Thompson, had specifically requested that his remains be shot out of a cannon at his Colorado home, the Hollywood star must have felt obliged to honour his request.
But now he is involved in a bitter row about money with his former managers, there is one aspect of the ceremony that may give him pause for thought: the £2.5m bill.
It was just one example of Depp’s ‘‘ultra-extravagant’’ £1.6m-a-month lifestyle which has now been laid bare in a legal case.
In a 17-year splurge the 53-yearold Hollywood star was said to have spent more than £60m on 14 homes, including a French chateau, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, a farm in Kentucky, and having wine flown in for his ‘‘personal consumption’’ at a cost of £24,000 a month. His purchases also included a £14m 50-metre yacht, 45 luxury cars, and 200 works by artists including Warhol, Klimt, Basquiat, and Modigliani. He also spent £3.2m on a failed record label.
Depp’s spending was detailed in his legal battle with former business advisers, The Management Group (TMG), in Los Angeles Superior Court. He had sued them two weeks ago alleging ‘‘gross mismanagement and sometimes outright fraud’’, claiming they owed him nearly £20m.
He claimed TMG collected millions in fees he had not agreed to, did not pay his taxes on time, and loaned out his money without consent. But in a 31-page counteraction, TMG accused Depp of breach of contract and fraud. They claimed he owed them £440,000 in fees, and repayment of a £3.3m loan, and filed foreclosure proceedings on one of Depp’s homes.
The former managers claimed Depp was repeatedly warned his spending was out of control, and that he ignored advice to rein it in.
Michael Kump, a lawyer for TMG, wrote: ‘‘Depp lived an ultraextravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost Depp in excess of £1.6m per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford.
‘‘Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today.’’
The business managers also said they warned Depp to organise a prenuptial agreement before his marriage to actress Amber Heard, which ended in divorce earlier this month with him paying a US$7M (NZ$9.6M) settlement.
Depp claimed he only realised his financial situation when TMG advised him to sell a large property in France to pay off debts.
Adam Waldman, Depp’s personal lawyer, said: ‘‘How cataloguing alleged spending by Mr Depp of his own money could somehow absolve the defendants of their large, and multi-faceted, mosaic of wrongdoing will ultimately be determined by the court.’’ – Telegraph Group