According to some outlets, Wayne Newton has $50 million in the bank. It’s not bad, but it’s a far cry from the hundreds of millions he’s earned over his career. Newton’s finances became so dire at one point that he was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992, listing more than $20 million in debt. So, what happened to all of his cash?
The entertainer’s bankruptcy filing listed a $341,000 IRS tax lien. Still, most of the debt stemmed from an eight-figure libel lawsuit against NBC. Newton sued the network after they reported the star had connections to the mob. It was a murky subject, as Newton was reportedly pals with alleged Carlo Gambino crime family mobster Guido Penosi. However, he denied knowing about Penosi’s mafioso ties. “It was ridiculous. I’m an Indian boy from Virginia; what do I know about the Mafia?” Newton told the Las Vegas Sun in 2000. Newton won the suit but couldn’t prove NBC’s reporting was malicious, so he wasn’t awarded damages.
Per The Las Vegas Review, before the bankruptcy filing, Newton was hit with myriad lawsuits for non-payment “for everything from a Cadillac to $32,384 worth of hay for his stable of horses.” The singer also battled with a Michigan airport over unpaid parking fees for his private jet. Meanwhile, Newton returned to the IRS crosshairs in August 2005. Per Forbes, the Feds claimed he owed $1.7 million in taxes and fines from 1997 to 2000.
