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We are into week six of the $50 million defamation trial brought by Johnny Depp against Amber Heard, who has countersued for $100 million.

The trial was originally slated to last six weeks so there is hope that it will soon be over.

Neither party is going to emerge from this trial with their reputation enhanced, although the groundswell of support for Depp online appears to far outweigh Heard’s.

Putting that aside for a second, it’s worth taking a look at how Depp amassed a massive fortune and then managed to (mostly) lose it.

We know he was fond of lavishing Heard with expensive gifts during their time together but that doesn’t tell the full story. To start, here’s NewsAU:

…to date, his films have grossed US$8.7 billion at the box office, worldwide.

And, as such, became one of the wealthiest actors in the business and was estimated, at one point, to be worth US$900 million. Until he squandered it all.

Every detail of the warring duo’s lives has been picked apart, including close scrutiny of their bank balances and what damage this case will do to their finances going forward.

For Depp, it’s a public reminder of his infamous spending habits:

In 2017, Depp launched a US$25 million lawsuit against his former business managers accusing them of stealing US$650 million from him, leaving him owing US$100 million in tax, and “on the brink of bankruptcy“…

The Management Group counter sued, claiming that Depp blew through around $2 million a month to maintain his lavish lifestyle – including $500,000 in rental fees for storage warehouses, $30,000 for wine, $200,000 for private jets.

Image: Boat International

The actor also splurged on private islands (which he and Heard exchanged vows on), a yacht [above] which he later sold to J.K. Rowling, a failed record label ($4 million), $150,000 on security, and $300,000 to maintain 40 staff.

In 2005, it was reported that he paid $5 million to have Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes blasted out of a cannon over Aspen, Colorado.

It’s what Hunter would have wanted. The only pity is that Keith Richards wasn’t on hand to snort some of those ashes.

That 2017 lawsuit revealed that Depp spent roughly $75 million purchasing more than 14 homes around the world, including a 45-acre chateau in France, a horse farm in Kentucky, and the islands in the Bahamas.

Testimony last week from Depp’s former financial manager Joel Mandel saw claims come to light that the actor was spending around $100 000 every month on David Kipper, a doctor hired in 2014 to help treat his addiction issues.

Mandel also alleged that Depp spent $10 000 a day on Jerry Judge, his former security manager, who employed a team of guards and other security officials that watched over Depp around the clock.

Depp made no bones about his inability to manage his own finances, saying at one point that he “had no idea about money or amounts of money”.

In total, from the five Pirates of the Caribbean movies alone, he’s estimated to have earned $300 million, with $90 million of that from 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge.

The success of the franchise meant the actor commanded a much higher base rate for his talents. His 2005 Willy Wonka earned $18 million, The Tourist paid US$20 million, and in 2020, he was paid $16 million to appear as Gellert Grindelwald, and his $55 million payday for Alice in Wonderland still stands as one of the 10 largest acting paychecks for a single movie.

From that peak net worth of $900 million, estimates today put his current net worth at around $150 million.

That’s certainly enough to have some spare change left over, even if Heard’s countersuit for $100 million was successful, but a far cry from what he once had tucked away.

I reckon I could make $50 million last but my overheads are a little lighter than Depp’s.

[source:newsau]