Posted on 06/06/2011 10:06:38 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
John McMonigle claims to be the world's number one real estate agent. With $2.5 billion in residential sales over the past six years, this 46-year-old realtor may well have been.
And now he's declaring bankruptcy.
According to the Orange County Register, McMonigle has amassed $50 million in debt, even after selling his luxurious Newport Beach condo, his car and personal effects.
The Oklahoma native started small, arriving in California with only $73 in his pocket in 1989. But within four years he was grossing $100,000 a year.
McMonigle's ascension through the ranks of top realtors reached dizzying heights during the years of the housing bubble. In 2006, he was living in an $11 million estate, driving a Maybach, and giving tours of a $75 million listing on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He launched his own M Magazine, marketed yachts, jets -- accessories to match the lifestyle he sold with his homes.
Then the bubble popped.
McMonigle was counting on selling $45 million worth of real estate per month, but only closed about $25 million to $35 million per month. Soon the bills started catching up.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
It amazes me too.
Did they spend every cent that came in ? How can you not be set for life during a time when you’re making unheard of money ?
Are you so in love with the money and things you don’t plan for your future ?
I don’t get it. Sometimes the rich are incredibly stupid.
LOL !!!
I love that song !
My wife and I have 13 grand children, so an "art display zone" is a necessity, we call it "The refrigerator".
It's not the money, it's the ride, and it looks like he had one heck of a ride. Chances are good that he will be riding high again one day.
Feeling good, Lewis!!!
You buys your ticket you takes the ride.
LOL, could be.
It’s only the beginning of the fall for big ticket sales.
Number One could also be facing legal problems——if he assisted buyers in falsifying bank apps to get mortgages.
This was very prevalent in Cali during the real estate boom.
One recent cable documentary showed a latino who mowed lawns for a living residing in a posh million dollar home. He lied about his income on the app. When he could not pay up, he had to move out-—blaming everybody but himself for his losses.
Proverbs is full of advice on money and materials. It teaches how to properly AQUIRE it. It teaches how to spend it and invest it. It warns against slothfulness and laziness. It teaches diligence and patience. It warns against foolishness and folly and exhorts seeking and living by wisdom.
Proverbs 31 talks of a woman, who gets up early, takes care of her family and servants, works hard around the house, sells her wares in the market AND THEN considers a field (wisdom) and buys it. The Bible says THIS is a noble woman.
Just so you know...you can get better quality garmets etc. at higher end stores on their clearance racks...even JC Penny’s outdoes most. $1.97 jeans is a great buy, especially when they are in fashion. Racks at Four and five dollars are not unusual. You get better quality for the buck.
Same with stores as Macy’s..Nordstrums etc.
I think the guy missed his calling. He should contact GQ and become a male model. Immediately.
He could have continued his normal spending habits, sent his wife on exotic vacations around the world, quaffed ale in Ireland, visited the Queen, golfed and not have had to change a thing.
Some people just don't understand 0bamanomics.
Every time I have moved I have stripped away so much unnecessary “stuff” until now I am able to live in a charming semi-efficiency aprtment. Complete with enclosed deck and garage. Unfortunately another move ahead....but a better area to live in.
Good luck on your new venture for stream lined living...
That said, outside of the Newport Beach area, California is rife with exactly what you're describing. Those areas were also hit a lot harder. The NB market has some significant differences than the rest of California, and while it is depressed, it's by no means dead. Careful people are still making plenty of money.
McMonigle's problem is much less in the market, and much more in overconfidence. He's a monster agent with a killer company (The McMonigle Group) who'd still be deep in multi-millionaire territory if he hadn't gotten so far ahead of himself. No fortune is safe from a runaway ego.
living pay check to pay check at that level is stupid!!!!
Absolutely wrong.
There are tens of thousands who are forced to file due to mountains of medical bills which they couldn't pay for if they lived to be 300 years old.
Yes I knew a man years ago that got into money issues over his ranch- he mortgaged one ranch to the hilt, paid off a very nice little ranch- he and his wife divorced, she got the little paid off place. Bank forclosed, he went bankrupt- lost everything, auction of all his stuff. Then he and wife got back together and had a nice ranch and all that she got in divorce, they lived quite well debt free. It was amazing to me that it worked that way but it did.
Yeah, right. As if he doesn’t have a couple of millions stashed in some off-shore accounts.
(At least I would...)
That depends.
Strictly speaking, he spent everything, so there is very little for the creditors to get back.
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