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I see all of the problems as interrelated. People who are manic depressive like Robin Williams are usually not good at managing money and can't maintain long term relationships (divorce is expensive)....So put all that together and it's not surprising he was broke & suicidal.
100% this.
I have wondered if he bought that ranch when he was in one of his manic phases. At least he amended his will to make sure his kids were taken care of before he checked out.
There is absolutely no indication that Robin Williams was bi-polar (the correct term for "manic depressive"). He openly discussed the fact that he suffered from DEPRESSION. The two illnesses are totally and completely different, much the same way as Type 2 diabetes is different from Type 1 diabetes. Similar names, different diseases.
I think it was pretty obvious he was manic. I doubt the manic episodes bothered him, but the depression part is an entirely different kettle of fish.
He wasn't manic depressive. He looked like he was because he was treating his depression with cocaine. And that stuff is more expensive than ANY divorce.
He quit cocaine after John Belushi OD'd, 32 years ago.
His more recent problems were with alcohol, a nervous system depressant that you can buy in any grocery store.
There is absolutely no indication that Robin Williams was bi-polar (the correct term for "manic depressive"). He openly discussed the fact that he suffered from DEPRESSION. The two illnesses are totally and completely different, much the same way as Type 2 diabetes is different from Type 1 diabetes. Similar names, different diseases.
+1.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger
I see all of the problems as interrelated. People who are manic depressive like Robin Williams are usually not good at managing money and can't maintain long term relationships (divorce is expensive)....So put all that together and it's not surprising he was broke & suicidal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ten Cat
100% this.
I have wondered if he bought that ranch when he was in one of his manic phases.
Wow, such ignorance about mental illness on this thread. Bipolar disorder does NOT equal depression. Depression is NOT bipolar disorder. There is no evidence Robin Williams had bipolar disorder. Half of all marriages in America end in divorce, but only a small percent of Americans are bipolar. People don't have to be bipolar to get divorced or have financial problems. Otherwise, most Americans would be bipolar! Depression is a more common mental illness than bipolar disorder.
Depression is helped by the use of antdepressants and therapy. Bipolar disorder is helped by the use of mood stabilizers, a completely different type of drug, and less often, therapy. Although bipolar people sometimes have depressed moods, their depressed moods are caused by a different illness. For example, bulimic women often have trouble with depression as well but their depression is secondary to the bulimia.
Although his publicist denies it, it looks like Robin Williams' financial troubles contributed to his depression and subsequent suicide.
Top of the list were the cost of 2 divorces and being overly generous with his money. The article alludes to the fact that he couldn't afford what he used to at the peak of his financial success.
He also mentioned in previous interviews that he take to take acting jobs he didn't really want just to pay the bills
It just goes to show you can be broke at any income level and that divorce is a major wealth killer.
Am not going to speculate on what caused Mr. Williams to cause his own demise. However historically plenty of actors and actresses of both stage and screen took roles/work they weren't thrilled with for need of funds.
Joan Crawford and Judy Garland are two examples that "went to work" for want of keeping the wolf from the door. Today you find once major performers doing shows in places like Florida or Las Vegas and so forth or taking roles in films or television they aren't thrilled with but need the paycheck.
The ranch in Napa has remained unsold as of the last time I checked a few weeks ago. Never heard of "house poor" ???
What are the property taxes on a 35 mil estate? 700k? Correct, I do not know the purchase price, which would change the basis here in California.
From personal experience I can affirm the debilitating effect on mental health of difficult money problems. I cannot imagine the complications that Big Pharma medications might add.
I don't think he was all that manic, I think that was in part his stage presence. His mind was certainly mercurial and he was far from the usual self-centered ego trip unlike most celebrities. He was also quite brilliant. But that doesn't necessarily correlate with 'illness' or 'disease' simply a difference, which is a difference not a bad wrong thing as defined by suffering a medical malady or the diagnosis of having one.
That said, perhaps he was broke as he was too generous with his time, money and didn't have that usual holier-than-thou money first attitude that most celebrities have.
FWIW I met Robin in SF years ago right before he made Good Will Hunting and Mrs. Doubtfire. He was a genuine kind man who enjoyed easing other people's minds as a therapeutic way to ease his own, thru comedy, which is why he entered the entertainment field I think.
But money, especially famous people's money, is so much more interesting so let's speculate about that solely, okay?
Am not going to speculate on what caused Mr. Williams to cause his own demise. However historically plenty of actors and actresses of both stage and screen took roles/work they weren't thrilled with for need of funds.
Joan Crawford and Judy Garland are two examples that "went to work" for want of keeping the wolf from the door. Today you find once major performers doing shows in places like Florida or Las Vegas and so forth or taking roles in films or television they aren't thrilled with but need the paycheck.
It's not always about the money ... it's often just an effort to stay relevant. Actors are very quickly forgotten. The longer you're out of the limelight, the harder it is to get roles. So sometimes they take roles they otherwise wouldn't just to stay visible.
I seriously doubt anyone here can say they pay their ex-wives thirty million a year for alimony. Most people don't make 30 million a year. I think your average "Joe" would say that was a monkey on his back. ( RW humor intended)
Sorry but in my opinion, to say that Williams committed suicide due to being broke or being in dire financial straits, is doing a disservice to the millions and millions of people across the U.S. and the world that don't have even 10 dollars to their name to buy food for the day, or a place to sleep.
Before his death, we estimated Robin's net worth to be $50 million. That's the number that is still on his page today. We stand by that number, but also want to emphasize that we do not realistically think that Robin had $50 million cash in his bank. Net worth by definition is a summary of all assets minus liabilities. It is not a snapshot of someone's checking account. Unless you're Floyd Mayweather (who famously keeps $123 million cash in checking).
How did we determine the number $50 million? Let's look at real estate first. Between just these two properties alone that we know about, on the low end Robin would have home equity worth $29 million (30 + 6 – 7). On the high end, his home equity would be $37 million (35 + 8 – 6). And that's just his real estate. We haven't even begun to talk about savings accounts, stock investments, retirement accounts, residuals, royalties, cars… and all the other assets that go into estimating someone's net worth. Robin also had the ability to earn an enormous income every year for many years. He has three major motion pictures on the way to theaters right now and was still a very much in-demand actor. Furthermore, at any point he could have organized a national standup comedy tour that easily would have earned him millions. As we mentioned, he also earned a minimum of $3.6 million last year for his work on The Crazy Ones.
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( RW humor intended)
