Mike Tyson was once the “king” of boxing. However, he burned all his fame and money on extravagant games. Now, “Iron Mike” has to entertain to collect every penny.

“My specialty is self-destruction”
That is Mike Tyson’s confession in his autobiography titled “The Naked Truth”, recounting the famous but scandalous life of the heavyweight boxing legend.

In the ring, Mike Tyson is an aggressive boxer. He rarely puts himself on the defensive but always attacks relentlessly until he subdues his opponent. At his peak in the 1980s and 1990s of the last century, few opponents could escape the “iron punch” of this legend.

However, as aggressive as Mike Tyson was in the ring, he was also aggressive in “burning money”. If anyone dared to spend $5 million in a few days, it was Mike Tyson.

Sharing with host Jimmy Kimmel in early 2024, “Iron Mike” admitted: “I could burn $5 million in just a few days. Yes, I was a terrible spender. That was my reckless youth”.

However, when Jimmy Kimmel asked if he had any regrets, “Iron Mike” calmly replied: “Never. It was such a great time”.

Indeed, Mike Tyson has the life of a king that anyone could wish for. It is estimated that during his peak career, the 58-year-old boxer earned 500 million USD (a huge number more than 20 years ago) but it was all “burned away” in Mike Tyson’s pleasures.

There are many anecdotes about Mike Tyson’s “money burning” speed, such as spending money to buy a gold bathtub worth 2.2 million USD to give to his second wife. In addition, he also spent nearly 200,000 USD to buy two Bengal tigers and spent 200,000 USD to raise them every year. Or once when he went to a jewelry store in Las Vegas (USA), he spent 173,000 USD to buy something even though it was later “thrown away”.

At his peak, Mike Tyson also owned many million-dollar villas across the United States, including a thousand-square-meter super villa in Connecticut, with 52 rooms.

After declaring bankruptcy for the first time, Mike Tyson sold it to rapper 50 Cent for $4.4 million. In addition, the value of the supercar fleet owned by Mike Tyson is also up to tens of millions of dollars.

The American legend born in 1966 became a big phenomenon when he became the heavyweight champion at the age of 20, but along with his outstanding talent, “Iron Mike” has many hidden corners that make anyone startled.

All the wealth just “went out” to serve Mike Tyson’s pleasure. Shelly Finkel, Mike Tyson’s former manager, recalled: “He was one of the few people I knew who was willing to throw money away to satisfy his pleasure. No matter what, Mike was willing to burn money, as long as he was happy. Mike owned so many supercars, he couldn’t remember where they were. I had to go find them for Mike.”

In his autobiography, Mike Tyson once admitted: “There was a time, I was having an orgy with 10 girls in a hotel in Las Vegas. I was naked but still wearing the heavyweight championship belt. I was like a candle burning at both ends. I trained like crazy but also had an orgy like crazy.” The boxer born in 1966 said he slept with 1,300 women during his dark life.

The nightmare of bankruptcy and being immersed in alcohol and drugs
The reason Mike Tyson spends so much money is because he makes money too easily and doesn’t know how to manage it. Even fights with a salary of tens of millions of USD are like… small change to this legendary boxer.

However, with the speed of “burning money” of Mike Tyson, the mountain also collapses. This boxer admitted: “I started having financial difficulties since 1998, when partners, taxes and many related parties kept demanding money. I earned a huge amount of money every time I fought and sold some assets but still couldn’t pay it all.”

In 2002, Mike Tyson earned 103 million USD when fighting Lennox Lewis, but just one year later, this boxer filed for bankruptcy with a debt of up to 23 million USD, of which, his biggest “creditors” were the Federal Internal Revenue Service (13.4 million USD) and the British Internal Revenue Service (4 million USD).

In addition, Mike Tyson also owes 7 law firms $600,000, owes a music production company $450,000, owes a financial management company $700,000 and owes his former trainer up to $800,000.

In 2005, Mike Tyson was forced to retire at the age of 38 after a fight with Kevin McBride, closing a tragic chapter in his life. Although he really wanted to get into the ring to earn money to pay off his debts, “Iron Mike” was powerless.

His heart was broken when he admitted to the press: “I don’t have the will to fight anymore. Everything in me is dead. Basically, I just step into the ring to earn money to pay my bills. I don’t love this job anymore.”

“Iron Mike” gave up his professional boxing career in this way. However, when his “creditors” kept demanding money, he still had to entertain himself by fighting to earn money. Mike Tyson participated in exhibition matches at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Vegas to serve the players.

At the end of 2006, Mike Tyson joined the World Tour with a series of exhibition matches, with the sole motive of making money. He once admitted the harsh truth: “If I don’t get out of this financial situation, I’ll always be someone’s punching bag.”

Mike Tyson admitted that he was a real addict, even when he was bankrupt and had nothing left. “Iron Mike” was so mentally confused that he didn’t know he was in the movie The Hangover in 2009.

He said: “Back then, I was addicted to alcohol and drugs, to the point that I didn’t know I was in the movie. I was messy, overweight, like a pig on cocaine.”

But Mike Tyson’s efforts to treat and rehabilitate were unsuccessful. The incident happened in 2009 after the tragic death of his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus. “Iron Mike” wanted to immerse himself in alcohol and drugs to forget his heartache.

In the podcast with Rick Ross, Mike Tyson admitted: “That was the worst memory of my life.” But this incident also became a turning point that helped Mike Tyson “become a better person”.

Mike Tyson confided: “My daughter’s death made me want to live a different life. I’m still struggling. Living a real life is very difficult for me. All my life, I was like an aggressive person in the ring. Now, I have to change”.

Dr. Gerardo Sandoval conducted research in a secret room in California (USA) to help Mike Tyson escape from addiction. He used the venom of the Sonoran desert toad, dried it into crystals and smoked it in a pipe. This is a toad that lives 7 months a year underground, and only a small amount of its venom is enough to stimulate the nervous system.

Mike Tyson said that smoking toad venom caused hallucinations that scared him and he once threatened to kill Sandoval. However, gradually, he went through 50 times smoking this type of crystal. That helped him lose 45kg in a few months and completely changed his personality.

“Iron” Mike shared in 2021: “The toughest opponent I’ve ever faced is myself. I am a person with self-esteem and often impulsive. However, toad venom took away that ego. It helped me be more creative and focused”.

The journey of rebirth in old age
After many ups and downs, fans have now seen the image of businessman Mike Tyson. The former heavyweight boxing champion started Tyson Holistic in 2016 and focused on selling premium cannabis products for medical purposes. He owns a 418-hectare farm to grow cannabis. Thanks to that, he earns 500,000 pounds a month from this business.

In addition, he also owns several luxury hotels and opened a university named Tyson, specializing in agriculture. “Iron Mike” also invested money in CHILL, a company that produces alkaline CBD water. He believes that CBD can help fight opiate addiction.

Rob Hickman, who works with Mike Tyson, emphasized: “He has changed. He is the perfect person.”

At the age of 58, Mike Tyson is no longer as healthy as before. Before the match with Jake Paul on November 16 in Las Vegas (USA), he had to have stomach surgery. Mike admitted that he almost lost his life because of this problem: “I lost to Jake Paul but still feel like I won. I am grateful for the match last night. I have no regrets stepping into the ring.

I almost died in June when I had to have 8 blood transfusions. I lost half the blood in my body and lost 11kg. I fought for my life, had to fight to be healthy again. So I still feel like a winner.

After going through 8 rounds, with a talented fighter half my age, in a packed stadium in Dallas, I think I had the experience that any man would want. Thank you.”

Indeed, Mike Tyson has won a glorious victory, not only with his stomach disease but also with his own fate. He no longer earns a huge amount of money like before. The $20 million earned after the match with Jake Paul means a lot to “Iron Mike” at this time. It is double his total assets.

Importantly, now, Mike Tyson is much calmer at the age of 58, after the events of his life. He is no longer an aggressive person, spending money recklessly on pleasures like before. Now, he feels happy with the “small” amounts of money and doing useful things for life.