Looking at famous and successful people, we never think that they experienced any hardships in their whole life. However, it is said that sometimes, in order to move forward, you need to take a step back before you take a step forward. This happened to several famous people, where their first businesses went bankrupt. Here are some examples.
- Abraham Lincoln
As surprising as it might seem, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t always this successful guy that led America as its president. In the early years of his life, Lincoln was a storekeeper in Salem, Illinois. Enough to say, the business didn’t go well – and when his business partner died, he was even more in debt. Eventually, he closed shop and moved on with his life.
- Walt Disney
Walt Disney was also a famous person that had a rocky start. His first bankruptcy happened when he was a teenager. Back in 1901, he formed Laugh-O-Gram Studio, where he made animated fairy tales. When his financial sponsor went broke, he had to file for bankruptcy because he could no longer pay the animators.
- Donald Trump
Talking about bouncing back from bankruptcy, we have Donald Trump who filed not once, not twice, but four times for chapter 11 bankruptcy. With that in mind, he still went back into the business and is massively profiting from it.
- Henry Ford
In 1903, Henry Ford filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on his Detroit Automobile Company, after finding himself unable to pay the investors. The advantage of this law is that even if you file for chapter 11 bankruptcy Milwaukee or any other place in the United States, it should allow you to restructure your business.
- Larry King
When it came to television, Larry King was indeed the king of the screen – but at the same time, he was struggling with debt management. After filing for bankruptcy, he started on a new journey that would label him as the most popular TV host in the U.S. His career went on for 25 years.
- Ulysses S. Grant
If Lincoln and Trump already taught us something, it’s that not all presidents start up perfectly. After a Wall Street investment failed upon him being cheated by his partner, Grant filed for bankruptcy and then started building more in his life.
- Milton Hershey
A real-life Willie Wonka, Hershey ran a candy store for 6 years before getting into debt and declaring bankruptcy. However, he refused to give up, so he went back home and created the Hershey Company, where he focused on milk and caramel production.
- Wayne Newton
Las Vegas lounge singer was also hobbling in debt in 1992, causing him to file for bankruptcy. With that in mind, despite his filing, he was able to rebuild his mass fortune within the next 7 years.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, filing for bankruptcy doesn’t have to mean you fail. It means you got a lesson to use as a stepping stone for the future. We hope these famous people’s stories will inspire you to get up and keep on going.
