Johnny Depp made $650 million but couldn't pay for his lavish lifestyle, ex-manager says

Many entertainment stars love the finer things in life, but it seems even the earnings of an A-lister like Johnny Depp couldn't sustain his wild indulgences.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star is currently in a public-relations tailspin following his messy divorce with actress Amber Heard, who alleged he had abused her, and filing a $25 million lawsuit against his former business mangers at The Management Group (TMG has countersued).

Things didn’t get any better for Depp on Wednesday when The Hollywood Reporter ran a feature that goes deeper into Depp’s financial woes.

TMG's Joel Mandel claims that even though Depp has earned more than $650 million in the 13-plus years the company represented the star, Depp didn't have enough liquid cash to cover his bills of $2 million a month. 

Depp’s extravagant spending habits reportedly include $3.6 million he paid annually to his 40-person staff, $350,000 paid monthly to maintain his 156-foot yacht, $30,000 a month on wine, and $5 million the star himself says he spent to shoot the ashes of his late friend Hunter S. Thompson out of a cannon.

TMG says it met with Depp on numerous occassions over the years to get Depp to sell some of his high-priced items. On one occasion, he agreed to sell his $10 million yacht he spent $8 million to renovate, according to THR. Another year, TMG almost got Depp to sell his French chateau (on which he spent $10 million in renovations), but he got cold feet after prospective buyers came calling, according to the ex-business managers. It’s since been relisted for $39 million, according to the trade.

Depp has routinely earned $20 million upfront paychecks for the movies he’s been in since the success of 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” He also gets 20% of the backend per picture, according to THR. A source said that’s $40 million from the backend of each “Pirates” movie and $55 million from his profit on the 2010 hit "Alice in Wonderland," which earned over $1 billion worldwide.

TMG attorney Michael Kump said in the lawsuit that the firm stepped in to help Depp avert a "devastating financial collapse." Depp has claimed he was kept in the dark about his finances.

It’s unclear how strapped for cash Depp currently is. According to litigation, he’s received $25.7 million over the past two years in profits from six movies and he earned upfront money (likely close to $20 million each) on finished movies “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “LAbyrinth,” and “Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes.”

A representative for Depp did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

SEE ALSO: Johnny Depp reportedly drank heavily and was constantly late on the new "Pirates" movie set

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