Cashed Out

Season 1, Episode 10: “B.B. King”

For over half a century, Riley B. King – better known as B.B. King – defined the blues for the world. But while he was a music pioneer and visionary, he was a novice at handling his money. Without much business sense, King struggled to collect royalties from his recordings during his lifetime, relying heavily on earning his wealth paycheck by paycheck, gig by gig. Even worse, he would waste his money on a severe gambling addiction that landed him in the hands of the IRS. By the end of his life. B.B. King had earned more than $100 million, but by the time he died in 2015, his net worth had dwindled to a relatively meagre $10 million. Following his death, a vicious war broke out between his 15 kids, their 15 different mothers(!), and his long-time manager LaVerne Toney, who was accused of poisoning and killing the him.