Burt reynolds 1996 bankruptcy, $10 million in debt-Reynolds was $10 million in debt when he filed for bankruptcy after his 1996 divorce. Burt Reynolds, the world's most popular movie star in the 1970s, invested in a restaurant chain ironically called PoFolks, opening outlets throughout California, Texas and Florida. By the late '80s, that investment made Reynolds a po' folk himself, costing him $15 million.

Combined with other bad investments, his diminished luster as a star and a costly divorce from Loni Anderson, the investment drove him toward a 1996 bankruptcy filing, at which time he was more than $10 million in debt. The Bandit always had a certain charm for lucking out of tough situations, and that didn't stop off-screen. Despite the bankruptcy, Reynolds was allowed to keep his $2.5 million mansion and all his personal property.