Allen Iverson Struggled With Money Due to 1 Lavish Expenditure, as Per 50YO Journalist

From earning millions to declaring bankruptcy, Allen Iverson lived it all. But how does someone as successful as Iverson go from having almost a $200 million fortune to being broke? Well, Iverson’s lavish lifestyle has not been a secret to any basketball enthusiast. And Vlad Lyubovny, aka DJ Vlad, believes that one particular aspect of this lavish lifestyle was what led to Iverson’s financial downfall. 

Notably, this came from the 50-year-old journalist in an interview with Marcellus Wiley. The discussion emerged from a comparison with former NFL WR Andre Rison. Vlad said, similar to Rison, Allen Iverson had a habit of moving around with his entourage, and this was what cost him a major share of his wealth. He recollected seeing Al in Miami, having like 20 guys around him. “He’s paying all their plane tickets, all their hotels, all their food… taking them shopping… buying the drinks at the club…,” Vlad said on the episode with Marcellus Wiley.

A lifestyle of this kind was bound to show its effects at some point. And this did not take too much time after Al’s retirement. He retired from the NBA in 2010 and he was done with his league earnings of approximately $200 million by 2012. He reached a point where he owed a jeweler in Georgia $900,000, but he was in no position to clear it. Subsequently, Iverson had to file for bankruptcy, and thus came a tragic end to his lavish lifestyle choices.

In the interview, Vlad further stated that it was a lifestyle like this that led to Iverson facing money problems. And there have been multiple revelations that have testified that Iverson did not care for his financial limits. Al shared one such incident himself in a 2018 Players Tribune article.

He recollected in the article that former 76ers guard Larry Hughes, during his rookie year, got fascinated by Iverson’s Bentley. Subsequently, he expressed the desire to get one for himself someday. “I don’t even hesitate. ‘Bro, you can have mine,'” Al wrote in the article. And this is just one of the many instances which explains how Iverson led himself to the stage of being broke.

Some other instances that explain Allen Iverson declaring bankruptcy

Apart from free giveaways to friends and teammates, which at times even included money, the 76ers icon had another serious spending issue. Notably, Iverson used to spend huge amounts of money at strip clubs. This was revealed by his former teammate, Matt Barnes, in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “Allen was the first guy that showed me how NBA players spend money in strip clubs… That guy went HARD. He’d throw so much money… He’d throw $30,000, $40,000 every time we went,” Barnes said.

Now, this excessive spending and giving out money or cars to friends is still a different thing. But buying a new car because you forgot where you parked is either being Allen Iverson or being disrespectful towards money. As per the reports, there was an instance where AI forgot where he parked his car at an airport. And instead of searching for it, he went to the dealership to buy a new one.

He is in a better position now after signing a lifetime deal with Reebok, which got him $800,000 per year and a $32 million trust that he’ll gain access to in the year 2030. One can only hope for Allen Iverson to be more judicious with his spending habits now.