MSN Money

20 business icons who went broke

The lives of the rich go from boom to bust surprisingly often. Here are 20 stories of success found and lost (and sometimes found again), from worlds as diverse as Wall Street, rap music, baking and the big top, using Bing to help tell them.

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49Comments
botlmkr1
Oct 19, 2012 10:53PM
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Bernie Madoff is not a business icon, he's a scumbag, POS thief.
John David Hunt
Oct 16, 2012 3:12PM
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JohnDavidHunt007@yah​oo.com
The Federal Reserve System has been causing havoc and fraud since the New York bank cartel signed up with the government allowing the cartel to exist when a law was passed 12-22-1913.  FRS has caused so many ups and downs in the market, buying bonds with money that they print when they think some of the banks or businesses or countries need money - this country has been boosted by trillions of Federal Reserve Notes created with no intrinsic real value behind them.  USA is nearly bankrupt, the FRS has never been audited in the 99 years it has been in business.  It is not Federal, there are no reserves, and it is not a bank or system.  FRAUD has been committed by our government since the above date.  That is a big part of how famous people end up broke - no FDS handouts or bailouts.

MrTippy10
Oct 15, 2012 10:34PM
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Great to see Suge Knight made the list ! It says "links to violence..." Are you kidding me ? He went to jail for it. All the dummy rappers played gangster with him, then woke up one day and realized they weren't getting paid despite selling millions of records !  
bud bundy
Oct 22, 2012 6:09AM
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Bernie Madoff is not a business icon he is just a common thief
Someone (ShowDontGo)
Oct 22, 2012 9:26AM
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Am I the only one who is SICK and tired of MSN and there stupid BING search engine?   I mean come on if you are going to give me a link to click on at least make sure it takes  me to what I want.  Noooooooo instead you want to increase your traffic so I have to click on about 20 buttons.  Rediculous.....Googl​e keeps looking better.
Binthere1
Oct 15, 2012 10:24PM
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The common denominator for all of these failures is arrogance.  Arrogance pushes the greed to where it becomes all-consuming.  And, quite often, the arrogance becomes self-sustaining until the whole house of cards suddenly collapses.  Sic transit gloria.
Someone (ShowDontGo)
Oct 22, 2012 9:27AM
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Why would you have a THIEF listed?  (Bernie)  You should list anyone who robbed a bank then.
CHARLES DIKENS
Oct 15, 2012 9:13PM
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ken lay is not dead.he lives u7nder a new identity
schlitzsky
Oct 19, 2012 10:54PM
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Wally Amos laughed all the way to the bank.  He retired in Kailua Hawaii and had another store called Cookie and Chip.  Great guy who gives back to the community.
Joe Whatshizname
Oct 16, 2012 2:34AM
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I CHOKED...NO JOKE...I'M BROKE
rsmith12345
Oct 16, 2012 4:35PM
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Reminds me of the time Homer Simpson went broke buying pumpkin futures the day after Halloween.
Wallace Torbert
Oct 22, 2012 10:54AM
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Madoff should have been executed and those responsible for investigating allegations and did nothing should be executed along with him.  $65 billion theft is enough to almost destroy American's confodence in the market and I know many who will never get in the market again.

 

They see it as run by crooks on Wall Street. 

Walter M4
Oct 22, 2012 9:50AM
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What difference does it make how much money you have when you die?  You can't spend it anymore.
nomadboy
Oct 20, 2012 1:21AM
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Ford didn't "go broke" with the Detroit Automobile Company.  He was fired by his financiers because he was more interested in building race cars than production cars.  The financiers hired Henry Leland to take over the company, which became Cadillac.  Leland later formed Lincoln, and Ford derived much satisfaction in purchasing Lincoln when the company got in financial trouble.
huuh
Oct 16, 2012 2:44PM
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some of the group were jokers. some crooks. others, unlucky.

 

the fickle finger of fate.

huuh
Oct 16, 2012 2:42PM
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good thing that ford could reorganize after his first flop or, you know, maybe we'd be driving stanley steamers.
Rickey Boring
Oct 20, 2012 1:14AM
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barnum circus has been around a very long time and always a great show for kids to see....more later world..
Wallace Torbert
Oct 22, 2012 10:49AM
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Maddof was a crook period, crooked Jew..
DenDen999
Oct 22, 2012 12:45PM
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OOps - didn't quite complete the statement - BM is exactly waht his initials stand for - he and his family and cohorts should rot in hell for the suffering they caused. Forever.

 

The same for those who may be pulling schemes off schemes as I write this.

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