BOXING
How Mike Tyson lost everything: From $400 million to bankrupt "That's just how I lived my life"
Mike Tyson, once the world’s richest and most feared heavyweight, burned through an astonishing $400 million in his career. We look at his rise, his financial spiral, and his return to relevance.
At his peak, Tyson was unstoppable in the ring, famous for his raw power and relentless knockouts. With a professional record of 50 wins, six losses, and two no contests, Tyson’s career was as fast-paced and brutal as his fighting style. He held the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles, often taking home massive paydays like the $103 million he made from his 2002 bout against Lennox Lewis, despite losing in the eighth round. Tyson’s lavish lifestyle, however, took center stage outside the ring - and that’s where his fortune truly went.
“It all went crazy and lasted between 15 and 16 years, it seemed like a lot of money but eventually it was gone,” Tyson later admitted.
The Cost of Living Large
Tyson wasn’t just wealthy; he spent like the money would never run out. He owned a 21-bedroom mansion in Connecticut, complete with its own casino and nightclub, a testament to his larger-than-life presence in and out of the ring. Alongside luxury cars, designer clothes, and extravagant jewelry, Tyson famously bought three Bengal tigers named Kenya, Storm, and Boris. These animals reportedly cost him up to $70,000 each, with an additional $200,000 in upkeep. The tigers became emblematic of his excess - powerful, exotic, and costly.
Tyson’s spending spiraled from a need to fill a void. “That stems pretty much from me being poor and never having anything. From me being bitter, angry, from me being in prison,” Tyson confessed. His years growing up in poverty left a scar, and when money came pouring in, he answered with a wave of luxury and impulse purchases, losing track of what he had and where it was going.
From the Ring to Ruin
By the early 2000s, Tyson’s fortune was running on fumes. He filed for bankruptcy in 2003, revealing debts of $23 million. His financial troubles included a $9 million divorce settlement with his second wife, Monica Turner, along with over $17 million in unpaid U.S. and British taxes. Tyson’s notorious lifestyle, lawsuits, and legal troubles only compounded the financial strain, marking a brutal fall for the man who once stood at the pinnacle of the sport.
“That’s just how I lived my life,” he reflected in a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger. “I don’t even fathom that, I don’t even think I’m that kind of guy. I don’t even consider having money like that anymore. That’s just my ex-life – how I lived my life.”
By then, Tyson saw money differently. What once fueled a life of excess now seemed surreal. “I was young and reckless,” he admitted. His addictive personality, shaped by hardship, had turned money into a means of escaping pain and embracing a lifestyle that would ultimately leave him broken.
The Comeback
Despite the crushing financial lows, Tyson managed to pull himself back up. In recent years, he’s rebuilt his net worth, which now sits around $10 million. He’s found new revenue streams with endorsements, ventures in cannabis, and his popular “Hotboxin’” podcast. Tyson has also shown up in films, reality shows, and documentaries, sharing his story of survival and transformation.
In a recent interview with Andre Ward, Tyson gave a glimpse into his personal reflections: “I don’t wish that on anyone. I don’t wish my life on no one. As a whole, yeah.” Tyson’s story carries the weight of a man who has lived through extreme highs and lows. Where once he ruled the ring with aggression, he now speaks of peace and acceptance.
The Next Fight
Even now, Tyson isn’t done. He’s set to face off with YouTuber Jake Paul on November 15 at Texas’s AT&T Stadium. Scheduled for eight two-minute rounds with 14oz gloves, the fight will air on Netflix and is projected to bring Tyson another $20 million payday. Despite being 58, he’s ready to step back into the ring, driven by the same resilience and intensity he’s had all his life.
“I don’t think I’m 58,” he says. “Do you think I feel 58 when I’m fighting these young [fighters] in the gym, and they’re bashing me, them big strong [individuals], and I’m bashing them back… I’m just a different species of human being, I think, because I’m very active in what I do. I don’t sit around and do nothing.”
For Tyson, it’s not just about money or fame anymore; it’s about grit and endurance, the things that have defined him from the beginning. From a world of luxury and ruin to a life of reflection and reinvention, Tyson’s journey shows that, even in the harshest of falls, there’s a way to rise once more.