Hoo-Argh! Al Pacino Reveals Ex-Manager Ripped Him Off For $50MILLION — Leaving Him 'Broke' and Acting in Films He Despised
Al Pacino's battle with Covid-19 in 2022 'nearly killed' the star.
Oct. 16 2024, Published 12:46 p.m. ET
Al Pacino has revealed he faced significant financial hardships after being swindled by a corrupt accountant, leaving him penniless.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Oscar winner, 84, had to star in an Adam Sandler film to recoup following his cash crisis.
Al Pacino's accountant went to jail for running a Ponzi scheme.
According to Pacino's new memoir Sonny Boy, he was forced to make dramatic career changes after his accountant mismanaged his funds, bringing the actor's savings from $50 million to zero dollars.
The Godfather star said he started "to get warnings that my accountant at the time, a guy who had lots of celebrity clients, was not to be trusted" in 2011.
He was paying "a ridiculous amount of money to rent some big fancy house in Beverly Hills" and took his entire family on a trip to Europe where he flew several people overseas "on a gorgeous Gulfstream 550" while renting out "a whole floor of the Dorchester hotel in London".
Pacino became suspicious after realizing his finances had not dramatically changed despite spending so much on vacation.
He wrote: "And I thought, It's simple. It's clear. I just know this. Time stopped. I am f-----."
Pacino became suspicious after taking a lavish trip with his family.
Pacino recalled looking into his finances and thinking: "I am broke.
"I had $50 million, and then I had nothing. I had property, but I didn't have any money.
"In this business, when you make $10 million for a film, it's not $10 million. Because after the lawyers, and the agents, and the publicist, and the government, it's not $10 million, it's $4.5 million in your pocket. But you're living above that because you're high on the hog. And that's how you lose it. It's very strange, the way it happens. The more money you make, the less you have."
Pacino reached out for help in hopes of dealing with the pressures of fame.
Pacino was in his 70s when he learned about his financial situation, adding: "I wasn't a young buck, and I was not going to be making the kind of money from acting in films that I had made before. The big paydays that I was used to just weren't coming around anymore."
To make up for the cash he lost, the legendary actor had to put aside all of his previous regulations for his career and start accepting whatever roles offered up a big paycheck. This is why he agreed to star in Sandler's Jack and Jill.
He revealed: "Jack and Jill was the first film I made after I lost my money. To be honest, I did it because I didn't have anything else.
"Adam Sandler wanted me, and they paid me a lot for it. So I went out and did it, and it helped. I love Adam, he was wonderful to work with and has become a dear friend. He also just happens to be a great actor and a hell of a guy."
Pacino warned hiis friends about his accountant.
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Pacino's corrupt accountant eventually served seven and a half years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme.
The actor said he was "a guy who had lots of celebrity clients" but was someone he was warned couldn't be trusted.
While it seems the Heat actor's finances are back on track, he admitted that he "has to think very seriously about my estate now. That means I have to get advice from people who are way smarter than me".
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