15 Celebs Who Were Caught Lying About How Much Money They Have

August 2024 · 12 minute read

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Nearly all celebrities lie about what they have. It's part of the game that they play with us, the fans. They show off all this cash, all those cars, the jewelry, and the perks. They present a wild and lavish lifestyle that we will never have, and we turn a blind eye to their exaggerations. We know that most stars don't buy their jewelry. They don't need to because they have it all gifted to them. We understand that most cars aren't bought with cash. Why would they? They could just lease them or finance them. But we don't always anticipate being lied to. That crosses the line. Being made wise to these lies can hurt us, but it hurts the star even more when they get caught.

In this age of social media and information readily available to everyone in an instant, lying is a tough ballgame. Some stars never learn, though. They lie, get caught, and lie some more. After all, it's cool to be rich. In fact, in some areas, such as rap and/or social media stardom, being rich is absolutely necessary. So, these stars have to lie. They just hope never to be outed about their mistruths. Yet, many do get busted. Yet, even after being shamed over and over again, some stars continue their lying ways. Now, some social media vigilantes have taken it upon themselves to bust as many of these liars as possible. They've turned exposing celebrity liars online into a full-time job. Really, this type of celebrity fraud is nothing new. It has been going on forever. So, we'll take a look at some of the funniest and most embarrassing examples from over the years, bringing to light stars who lied about their wealth on TV or online and were shamelessly caught in the act.

Bow Wow's Private Jet

This story has gained a lot of traction since it happened, so we expect that you've heard about it. We would be more surprised if you hadn't. Honestly, we don't want to pour more fuel on the fire here. Bow Wow has been put through the ringer enough, but we do have to address it. Bow Wow is a guy that has made a lot of money in music. He started very young and managed to stay in the industry in various ways. That's an incredible feat. Yet, he has been known to exaggerate his wealth, to put it mildly. The worst was this whole private jet fiasco.

He posted a picture of a private jet, claiming that he was flying private to NY. He wasn't, though.

The picture was from a private jet ad and Bow Wow was flying commercial. We know this because not long after Bow Wow's post, the guy sitting behind the rapper saw the post and outed him by posting a picture of the star, mocking his lie. The online heckling of Bow Wow got out of hand, though. It was actually kind of sad, and we feel for the guy.

Future's Bad Fake Watch

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore watch is a really beautiful watch. Most of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak collection is, though, so it makes sense that all types of celebrities would want one. But, like all jewelry, having people believe you have something expensive is just as important as actually having something expensive. That's probably why Future was walking around with a fake Offshore watch. He didn't think that he would get exposed. That's where Fakewatchbusta comes in. This Instagram account has been exposing fake watches for years now. This guy spotted a picture that Future's then-spouse, Ciara, posted and zoomed in on the watch.

What appeared to be a $20,000+ Offshore watch was really just a cheap knockoff.

Worse still, it wasn't even a good fake.

JoJo's Crib

The fact that JoJo eventually came clean on this one gives us a lot of respect for her and frankly, after what we learned about MTV Cribs through Redman, we put the bulk of the blame on them. That show wanted to ensure that stars looked insanely rich, even if it wasn’t true. So, when the then-newcomer, JoJo, was asked to be on an episode of Cribs, she said yes. She felt compelled. But, there was a problem.

JoJo was living out of hotels at the time. She was a child.

"It was so ridiculous," Jojo said. "The thing is, we didn't have a home at that point. My mom and I were living out of suitcases and we were mostly in hotels. So that was actually my uncle's house, on the Cape. That wasn't my house. That wasn't my stuff. When I was sitting on the spinny thing, that was his kids'. That's the truth. I should've balled hard, and been like, 'Welcome to my crib, look at how luxurious it is,' and I should have rented out a place. But no. I just used my uncle's crib. So that was me lying on Cribs."

RELATED: Dirty Secrets About MTV Cribs

Soulja Boy And The Stacks Of Money

Another rapper who has been known to front about his money and diamonds is Soulja Boy. This guy might be the most notorious for his lies. Maybe the worst came when the rapper, in a now-deleted tweet, posted a picture of himself holding stacks of cash. Seemingly in a hurry to get the picture online, Soulja Boy neglected to look at the stacks carefully. Had he looked, he would have noticed that

while the $100 bills on the outside looked real, the blank white paper for all the inside bills did not.

It's these type of in-your-face lies that have to make you feel bad. We don't doubt that Soulja Boy has lots of money, but posting this blatant lie and getting nailed for it really plays with your heart strings, doesn't it?

Wacka Flocka Flame's Fake Watch

Fakewatchbusta was at it again. This time, he nailed Waka Flocka for posting a picture of himself in a Hublot Classic watch. While this watch tends to run for more than $10,000 at minimum,

Waka Flocka's version of the watch probably cost him $50 bucks.

The exposing Instagram account mentioned how the sub dial spacing was off and both the date spacing and config were wrong. For a guy like Waka Flocka, who shows off his diamonds and money and lot, this type of exposure can be mighty embarrassing. We understand that many rappers wear costume jewelry here and there for safety purposes, but they should expect that these days, if it ain't real, it'll be called out.

Ja Rule Is Getting Sued

Ja Rule has had a very strange career when it comes to flaunting the illusion of wealth and lifestyle that he can't maintain. Back in 2004, the biggest goof was when he showed off "his" mansion. It seemed believable because of how big Ja Rule talked at the time. But then,

the rapper was sued by the actual owner of the mansion for trashing his place.

In fact, Ja Rule also got in trouble for allowing MTV cameras to film the place without the owner's permission. Even still, Ja Rule keeps up the façade. Just last year, Ja Rule advertised this luxury festival in the Bahamas, the Fyre Festival. Tickets were sold for outrageous prices, but when guests showed up, the accommodations were a mess. Food was horrible, the event was a disaster, and Ja Rule was sued…once again.

Sean Kingston And Bieber's Car

Several years back now, Sean Kingston made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he was spotted in a very familiar car: a chrome Fisker Karma, much like the one Justin Bieber owned. When Kingston pulled up to a steakhouse in the vehicle, reporters asked him about it. Rather than being honest, Kingston felt compelled to craft a massive lie. His reply to the questions about the car was,

"When you're best friends with one of the biggest pop stars in the world, you get all kinds of gifts."

So, this is Kingston's car now? No. This claim was later refuted by Bieber's people saying that the singer did not gift the vehicle the Kingston at all. After being embarrassed, Kingston would say it was all a joke, but we know that he just got caught in a huge lie.

Rick Ross Lies

Rick Ross has been known to lie a time or two. This is the guy who was called out for being a corrections officer when he was younger. A rapper who talks a big drug and thug game being a former CO? Couldn't be, right? Rick Ross denied it for as long as he could, until there was just too much proof, then he shrugged it off. It was just a job, he said. Then Rick Ross got caught lying again. This time, he took shots at Birdman in "Idols Become Rivals," saying, "I used to see you n***as on my tv screen… and then I met you out on LiveNation dates, came to the realization that your watch was fake…" Sounds like Rick Ross only wears real watches. So, why then was he also busted by fakewatchbusta for wearing and flossing with a fake Audemars Piguet. This man is a hypocrite.

Ludacris' Ludicrous Claims

We don't want to pretend that Ludacris has never made money. He was one of the most popular rappers in the game for a little while. But things got a bit awkward for the Atlanta-based musician when, in 2013, he was in court justifying that he could only afford a small child support payment because he only earned $55,000. Now,

we don't believe that Ludacris is only worth $55K.

We also find it easy to believe that the star would fudge the numbers a bit to save himself some money. But the fact that he only brought in that amount in one year (on paper) shows how much times have changed for the guy who used to bring in millions monthly.

50 Cent And His Strange Life

Everyone knows how much 50 Cent talks about money. It's a major element to his shtick. We're also not about to suggest that 50 didn't make money. He has definitely made money hand over fist for many years. But then, we heard about 50 Cent claiming bankruptcy. He would pay this off with a massive $22 million payout. This, and all the press around his debt, made people question whether or not he had lost all his money somehow. Now, there are reports that 50 Cent has plenty of money in investments and Bitcoin and other places, so no one really knows what the truth is. Still, 50 Cent has been caught lying about money before. Take his Cribs episode, for example.

Many of the cars he showed off at the time were shown to be rented from a local collector.

Then there were several social media posts that show 50 surrounded by money, but he claimed that those were fake bills. He even took a picture from a police bust and pretended the money claimed in the bust was his.

Yo Gotti Is Fake

While no one is safe from fakewatchbusta on Instagram, it might be that Yo Gotti got it the worst from the account. Not only was this rapper called out for having a fake Audemars Piguet, but it was called the worst fake of them all. The Instagram account then even stepped into the world of fake money too, pointing out that the bills Yo Gotti was flexing with were clearly fakes,

more likely basic paper than actual Greenbacks.

Getting called out in this way even led some other rappers to join in the fun and start mocking Yo Gotti as well. It was a rough time for the guy who uses this wealthy image to his advantage.

Bieber's Fake Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton used to make custom jackets for many of the stars, but they have now stopped. They focused their attention in other areas and the world cried. But then, Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith were seen wearing brand new jackets. Had the company changed their stance? Were they making jackets again? Nope, they weren't. These two stars were just caught wearing fake Louis Vuitton. How embarrassing. A rep with the designer stated,

“The jacket Bieber is wearing is a cheap knockoff of the Louis Vuitton brand.”

They also added, “Anything unauthentic, whether worn by a famous individual or not, is seriously frowned upon.”

Plies Robbed Of Fake Chains

Plies is a rapper who takes plenty of pictures of his cartoonish jewelry claiming he's all real all the time. There was a rumor a while back that Plies even got a serious neck injury because of one of his insanely large chains. We highly doubt the truth behind that. One story that has persisted is about how Plies was robbed allegedly one night while he was out. When he returned to his hotel room, the rapper noticed that two of his chains had been taken. He was upset. But these chains were fakes, apparently. According to the thief, he went to the pawn shop to cash these massive pieces in, but he was informed that the pieces were horrible fakes.

Chloe Khan Cons Her Fans

In 2010, Chloe Khan got a taste of fame on X Factor and decided to make a career out of it. She then became a socialite who flaunts her great wealthy lifestyle for others to live vicariously through. Lately, however, more and more information has been coming out that it is all a lie, or at least greatly exaggerated.

Her mansion that she shows off is actually just a rented apartment.

While she definitely once had access to money through her ex-boyfriend, the well has all but apparently run dry. The word on the street is that Khan keeps up the illusion through renting expensive cars and having companies send her expensive gifts to show off on social media.

Robbie Williams The Medicine Man

Even though Robbie Williams would own up to his lie, he was left to look silly for a while after his MTV Cribs episode aired. The pop star allowed cameras into his mansion and walked around making it look like he was exceptionally wealthy.

He even hired fake butlers to make it seem like he had household staff.

Later, it was revealed that Williams was simply showing off Jane Seymour's home. That's right, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman allowed Robbie Williams to stay in her house, and he passed it off as his own for a television show. Now, he would ask the cameras to come back and film another episode in his actual home, so we forgive him.

Sources: Instagram; Fakewatchbusta; YouTube; Business Insider

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