Five Post-Bankruptcy Success Stories

In Monopoly, a bankruptcy ends the game. But in real life, bankruptcy is a fresh start. Below are a few people who made the most of that fresh start. These individuals have something else in common. They all overcame significant obstacles to be successful. Your family can do the same thing.

A good Chicago bankruptcy lawyer does more than file the proper paperwork and represent you in court. An attorney also gives people the tools they need to quickly raise their credit scores. As a result, by the time the bankruptcy notation falls off their credit reports, many people have forgotten they filed in the first place.

P.T. Barnum

The Greatest Showman is a fictionalized account of Barnum’s life. The musical does not dwell on some aspects of it, including his 1850 bankruptcy filing.

In 1841, the 31-year-old Barnum bought, renovated, and expanded New York City’s Scudder’s American Museum. But the venture never was profitable, partly because the building burned down five times and partly because of weak ticket sales.

To recover from bankruptcy, Barnum hit the lecture circuit. The money he earned helped him get back on his feet after bankruptcy and begin the mobile, three-ring circus which lasted until 2017.

Abraham Lincoln

The Great Emancipator was born at about the same time as Barnum. For the most part, they followed radically different career paths. But they both encountered some early financial misfortunes.

Lincoln and a partner opened a general store in 1833. The store mostly operated in the red. Making matters worse, Lincoln’s partner died, leaving him solely responsible for about $1,000 of debt. That was a staggering amount of money back then.

Lincoln declared bankruptcy so he could hold onto his few assets, which mostly consisted of surveying equipment. There was no Bankruptcy Code back then, so Lincoln spent the next seventeen years repaying creditors. Today, Lincoln would spend a maximum five years repaying unsecured debts.

Walt Disney

Things looked very good for Disney in 1920. With the support of a wealthy backer, he started his own animation studio and assembled a team of illustrators. But the backer went broke, and Disney could not stay afloat financially.

In 1923, Disney borrowed money from family and started another studio. But his financial troubles persisted. His new company racked up debts until Mickey Mouse came along in 1928. The extended dry period, along with production problems on 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, almost sent Disney into bankruptcy again.

But a bank loan, which he received almost literally at the eleventh hour, allowed him to stay in business. Disney was worth $5 billion when he died in 1966.

MC Hammer

U Can’t Touch This, a smash hit song, was released in 1990. Before the decade was over, Hammer was about $13 million in debt. He filed Chapter 11, partially to take care of his debts and partially to ward off a threatened IRS lawsuit. Recently, Hammer’s net worth rose to about $1.5 million. That fortune is minuscule compared to the one he had in the 90s, but it is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

In case you’re wondering, Hammer got his nickname when he was a ball boy for the Oakland A’s back in the day. Reggie Jackson said he looked like “Hammerin’” Hank Aaron.

Dave Ramsey

Millions of people turn to Ramsey for financial advice. His advice is often solid, partially because he has been in the depths himself.

By age 26, Ramsey had earned over $4 million in real estate. But his holdings were heavily leveraged. When creditors began calling in the loans, Ramsey couldn’t pay. He filed bankruptcy in the late 1980s.

Ramsey used his fresh start to reinvent himself. He began by offering financial counselling at his church. After he wrote his first book in 1992, Ramsey began a syndicated radio program. Today, an estimated eight million people listen to Ramsey on 550 stations. His net worth exceeds $25 million.

Rely on Experienced Lawyers

Bankruptcy offers people like you a fresh start. For a free consultation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney in Chicago, contact the Bentz Holguin Law Firm, LLC. We routinely handle matters in Illinois and Indiana.

Resource:

scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol69/iss1/3/

https://bentzholguinlaw.com/special-issues-in-an-illinois-grey-bankruptcy-2/