EXCLUSIVE: How Nicolas Cage Blew Through His Massive Hollywood Fortune
Nicolas Cage allegedly blew through his massive Hollywood fortune on lavish purchases.
Sept. 10 2026, Published 4:06 p.m. ET
Nicolas Cage has seen his $10.5million Malibu mansion struck by a huge sinkhole, with the collapse destroying the driveway and threatening the beachfront property as authorities evacuated nearby homes – and RadarOnline.com can reveal the incident is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the actor's history of extravagant real-estate purchases and financial turmoil.
Cage, 62, bought the now-wrecked four-story, roughly 4,000-square-foot Malibu home in 2024.
Malibu Property Sinkhole Emergency
Nicolas Cage’s Malibu mansion suffered a major sinkhole collapse.
On Tuesday, September 8, the driveway collapsed, opening a sinkhole, which by evening measured about 25 feet deep and 30 by 60 feet wide.
A gas leak was also reported, while Malibu officials declared a local emergency and ordered evacuations affecting 31 nearby properties.
The collapse came as Southern California faced high tides, heavy surf, and flooding associated with Tropical Storm Marie.
Officials warned coastal erosion and further rain could worsen conditions, while emergency access to the neighborhood was severely restricted.
Inside His Wild $150 Million Spending Spree
Cage once amassed a reported fortune of about $150 million.
The disaster is an extraordinary setback for an actor whose spending once became almost as famous as his movie career.
At his peak, Cage reportedly amassed a fortune of about $150million, before financial problems left him owing the Internal Revenue Service roughly $14million in back taxes in 2009.
Cage, known for films including Ghost Rider and National Treasure, spent heavily on cars, property, collectibles and exotic animals.
In 1997, he paid $450,000 for rare animals including two albino king cobras, which he named Moby and Sheba, a two-headed snake called Harvey and an octopus that he said helped his acting.
He also owned a Maine Coon cat named Merlin, turtles, a fish and a talking Lamborghini Miura SVJ, built for the late Shah of Iran.
By 2004, he reportedly owned 30 motorcycles and nine Rolls-Royces.
The Stolen 'Superman' Comic And Dinosaur Skull
Nicolas Cage once owned the LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans.
His collection also included an original Action Comics No. 1, bought for $150,000 in 1997.
After reporting it stolen in 2000, Cage recovered the Superman comic in 2011, when it was found in a California storage locker.
He later sold it for almost $2.2million.
Cage's unusual purchases extended to two albino king cobras, which he named Moby and Sheba, a two-headed snake called Harvey and an octopus that he said helped his acting.
He also owned a Maine Coon cat named Merlin, turtles, a fish and a talking crow called Huggin.
His property portfolio was similarly extravagant.
Cage bought Leaf Cay, a 15-acre private island in the Bahamas, for $3million in 2006.
He also purchased Neidstein Castle in Germany for $2.3million and Midford Castle in England for a reported $10 million.
In New Orleans, Cage bought the notorious LaLaurie Mansion for $3.4million in 2007.
He once owned as many as 15 properties, including a $25million waterfront mansion in Newport Beach, California, and an $8.5million home in Las Vegas.
His spending also included a $20million Gulfstream jet and a $20million superyacht.
He bought a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skull for $276,000, only to surrender it to Mongolian authorities after it was determined that the fossil may have been stolen.
How Cage Fought Back From Financial Ruin
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Cage continued acting after his financial troubles and appeared in more than 46 films.
Despite his financial difficulties, Cage continued working, appearing in more than 46 films after his money troubles began.
His performance in Pig in 2021 brought renewed critical attention, while The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent saw him play a fictionalized version of himself.
Cage has said he settled his debts – but is now said to be worth only $20million.
His Malibu property, meanwhile, remains caught up in the expanding sinkhole emergency, with officials continuing to monitor the unstable coastal area.
