Lady Gaga, despite her current wealth, faced bankruptcy following her ‘Monster Ball’ tour, falling into $3 million (£2.5m) debts.
This financial setback might seem minor now, given her impressive recovery and continued success, but losing such a substantial amount was a significant hurdle.
Currently, she is enjoying one of the most fruitful periods of her career. She has multiple Grammys, an Oscar for Best Original Song, a Best Actress nomination for “A Star is Born,” and a starring role in the upcoming film “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
However, a few years ago, her situation was quite different.
The 38-year-old artist, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, first gained fame in 2008 with her album “The Fame,” and her popularity has only grown over nearly two decades.
Besides winning 13 Grammys, completing seven tours, and performing at a Super Bowl halftime show, Gaga is celebrated as an icon by her dedicated fan base, who admire her extraordinary talent.
Recently, she collaborated with Bruno Mars on a country-inspired track, which many fans consider some of her best work to date.
As she prepares for “Joker 2,” it appears she plans to continue balancing her music and acting careers, with both going well.
Financially, she’s certainly in a good place now.
Yet, at one point, she was close to financial ruin.
In an interview with the Financial Times, she detailed how her second tour drained her finances.
She recalled: “I actually went bankrupt after the first extension of The Monster Ball [between 2009 and 2011] and it was funny because I didn’t know!”
She continued: “I remember I called everybody and said, ‘Why is everyone saying I have no money? This is ridiculous; I have five No. 1 singles.’”
“And they said, ‘Well, you’re $3 million in debt.’”
According to that Financial Times article, she managed to overcome her debt thanks to the “sheer quality and popularity” of her music.
One of the advantages of being a massive pop star is that if you go bankrupt due to a world tour, you can likely organize another tour or release a new album to recoup your losses.
As of 2020, Forbes reported her net worth at $150 million (£120m), but Gaga insists her career has never been about the money.
She explained: “The beauty for me about being an artist is that the dream will never die, because I’m not obsessed with material things and don’t care about the money and don’t care about the attention of the public, but only the love of my fans, so for me it’s about how much more devoted, how much better an artist can I become.
“It’s honestly true that money means nothing to me.”
Despite this, there have been significant purchases that mattered to her, primarily aimed at giving her fans the best show possible.
She shared: “The only big things I’ve purchased are my dad’s heart valve and a Rolls-Royce for my parents, for their anniversary.
“Other than that, I put everything in the show.”
When asked to rank those purchases by importance, that’s likely a tough call for her to make.
Recently, she faced technical issues at the Olympics when her mic failed to capture her vocals, but at this point, fans are simply fortunate to experience her live performances.