How Robert De Niro Really Lost So Much Of His Money

Actor Robert De Niro is reportedly worth $500 million at the time of this writing, so he's probably not one of the celebs who is much poorer than you thought. However, the "Taxi Driver" star has lost substantial sums of money over the years. For example, De Niro had to scramble to settle a tax lien after the IRS sent him a bill for $6.4 million dollars in 2015. "IRS notifications of taxes due had been sent to an old address, currently an unoccupied commercial building," his representative told E! News that February. Fortunately, he was able to get the matter squared away rather quickly. "Once Mr. De Niro learned of this tax delinquency, he had a check for the full amount hand-delivered to their office yesterday," they added.

That said, De Niro didn't have nearly as many liquid assets when the coronavirus hit the hospitality industry, and he became one of several celebrities who lost a ton of money in 2020. He had invested in The Greenwich Hotel and co-founded Nobu, which struggled to stay afloat amid lockdown orders. According to Page Six, the actor's lawyers claimed that Nobu, which has become a hub for celebrity spottings, was in the hole for nearly $5 million. As an investor, De Niro was also on the hook for a $500,000 capital call, which he was forced to get from a business associate. Per his lawyer, he didn't "have the cash."

Of course, we only know about these financial stressors because of the divorce proceedings between him and his second wife, Grace Hightower, whom he sparred with over her six-figure credit card limit and other aspects of her alleged expensive lifestyle.

Robert De Niro's messy divorce from his second wife, Grace Hightower, was a rather expensive endeavor. According to Page Six, De Niro and Hightower fiercely fought over money during their divorce proceedings. One point of contention was Hightower's objection to the actor lowering her $100,000 credit card limit to $50,000 a month. While her legal team fought to secure her the previously-agreed limit, De Niro's legal squad claimed he wasn't making as much money as when they'd struck the deal. They also claimed that, despite his net worth, the "Heist" star had been spending more money than he was making. "His accounts and business manager ... says that the best case for Mr. De Niro, if everything starts to turn around this year, ... he is going to be lucky if he makes $7.5 million this year," said his lawyer in 2020 (via Page Six).

Ultimately, this legal maneuver worked — at least partially. While the judge allowed for him to slash Hightower's credit card limit, he was still on the hook for an additional $75,000 so she could secure summer housing. But that was far from the end of things. By April 2021, the aging star's legal team was claiming that his ongoing financial obligations to Hightower were forcing him to work. "Mr. De Niro is 77 years old, and while he loves his craft, he should not be forced to work at this prodigious pace because he has to," said his attorney in court (via Page Six). 

However, things were looking up slightly for De Niro by October 2021, when a judge ruled that Hightower wouldn't be getting awarded half of his $500,000,000 fortune. But he'll still be paying her $1 million a year in alimony for the rest of his days.