MIKE TYSON’S status after becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of the world and then one of the greatest boxers ever earned him a fortune.
So much so that Iron Mike was said to be worth a staggering $400million at his peak.
In today’s money with inflation taken into consideration, that soars up to a whopping $700m – or roughly £550m.
But as he prepares to take on Jake Paul in their big-money boxing fight on Friday night in Texas, Tyson, 58, is now worth a fraction of that.
In fact, the $20m purse he is set to receive from this weekend’s fight with the Problem Child is approximately double his current net worth.
The former boxer – who spent three years in prison from 1992 for rape – filed for bankruptcy in 2003 amid spiralling debts of up to $23m, including more than $13m owed to the taxman.
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But where did all of Tyson’s money go?
HOUSES
By far his biggest outlay was on property, with the boxing icon owning multi-million-dollar mansions across America.
The flagship pad was the 52-room, 21-bed, 50,000-square-foot home he had in Connecticut which included 25 bathrooms, a nightclub, an indoor pool, a basketball court and even a recording studio.
Tyson had to sell it when he was declared bankrupt and rapper 50 Cent paid $4.4m for it.
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Another luxury gaff of Tyson’s was his Ohio mansion which he had to sell in 1999 and has now been converted into a church.
Tyson also had a seven-bedroom home with ex-wife Monica Turner in Maryland which overlooked the prestigious Congressional Country Club, hosts of the US Open golf on three occasions. Turner got the house in the divorce paperwork.
There was also the Nevada property which was used in The Hangover film which included a 25-foot waterfall in the reception but was sold in 2016.
Tyson now has a pretty plush – by any normal person’s standards – six-bedroom, six-bathroom villa in Las Vegas, bought for £2.5m soon after selling the Hangover home.
As well as owning massive homes, it also cost Tyson a lot to upkeep them.
The maintenance costs were as high as $300,000 per year in the mid-90s just to keep the gardens and lawns in tip-top condition.
CARS
Tyson’s other huge spending went on his motors with some suggestions he has owned more than 100 vehicles over the course of his lifetime.
An estimated $4.5m in total has gone on cars including a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Mercedes-Benz G Class worth £136,000 and a Rolls-Royce limousine (£165,000).
He also owned a Lamborghini Super Diablo Twin Turbo (£180k), a Ferrari F50, a Cadillac Seville, a Rolls-Royce Corniche and one of just 73 Bentley Continental SCs made in the world.
PETS
Tyson’s bizarre pets also cost him plenty of money.
He famously bought three Bengal tigers for around $70,000 each.
But he then ended up spending an extra $200,000 a year to feed the big cats – and $125,000 on a specialised trainer to take care of them.
Tyson also owned an estimated 3,000 racing pigeons and kept them in a custom-built cage.
He is said to have spent up to $3,000 on each bird.
JEWELLERY AND CLOTHING
Tyson certainly liked to make sure people knew he was spending his fortune.
But on one trip to collect a customised $850 white leather jacket from Dapper Dan’s in New York, he ended up with a broken hand in a street brawl with rival Mitch Green.
It was alleged Tyson would spent $100,000 per month on clothing and jewellery and would often walk around with outfits and accessories worth millions.
One particularly lavish shopping spree saw him drop $688,000 in London in 2000 on a diamond watch, a bracelet and two pocket watches.
PHONE BILLS
A slightly less exciting part of Tyson’s annual expenditure went on phone and pager bills.
That totalled around about $230,000 per year with phone plans for himself, friends, family and staff.
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PARTYING
Back to the fun stuff and Tyson certainly threw some lavish parties.
None more so than for his 30th birthday which he hosted at the Connecticut mansion – which cost an eye-watering $410k.
Tyson hired 13 chefs who all worked in their own kitchens at the pad while Jay-Z, Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey were among the star-studded guest list.
Tyson claims he reserved 19 rooms in his house – each for a different girl he wanted to sleep with that night – as the celebs were put up in a nearby hotel and his then-girlfriend was less than pleased.
He said: “There was a guy hand-rolling cigars.
“You entered the house on an actual red carpet – once you got past the 40 big Fruit of Islam bodyguards stationed outside.
“I was so egomaniacal that I reserved the 19 bedrooms in my house for girls who I wanted to sleep with.
GENEROUS GIFTS
With so much surplus money to play with, Tyson was willing to splash the cash on some extravagant presents.
None could compare to the 24-carat gold bathtub he bought for his then-wife Robin Givens in 1988.
The Christmas present cost $2.2m – but he sold it the following year when they separated making a $1m loss.
Their marriage lasted just a year and cost Tyson a reported £8m in the divorce settlement.
Elsewhere, it is understood Tyson gave himself some “walking around money” for spontaneous purchases and money to treat friends and family.
He budgeted just the $240,000 per month for that.
He almost lost another $10,000 during a private romantic date with Givens at a zoo.
After already bribing a worker to let them in after closing time, he offered the crazy figure to the zookeeper to open the gorilla cage so he could fight the alpha male – but the employee declined.
REHAB
Tyson’s struggles with drugs including cocaine have been well documented – starting when he took acid aged just 11.
And he revealed the remainder of his fortune went on trying to end his addiction issues.
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Tyson, who still smokes cannabis but claims he has stopped while training for the Paul fight, said: “My last million dollars were spent on my rehabilitation because, of the approximately $500m that I made as a boxer, I had nothing left.
“It all went crazy and lasted between 15 and 16 years – it seemed like a lot of money but eventually it was gone.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk