The Real Reason Sinbad Lost Most Of His Money

Anyone who was hanging around in the 1990s will recognize the name "Sinbad" — and we don't mean the sailing adventurer from "One Thousand and One Nights." Born David Adkins in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1956, Sinbad was a mainstay on the comedy stage for years and popped up in a series of hit comedy films  like "Coneheads" (1993), "Houseguest" (1995), "Jingle All the Way" (1996), and "Good Burger" (1997). He even had his own kid-friendly sitcom, "The Sinbad Show," that ran for a season from 1993 to 1994.

With such a career, you'd think that Sinbad would be set for life financially, even if his career has petered off since the '90s. But sadly, he's not as flush with cash as you might think. It's not that he didn't have money at one point — more than he mismanaged his finances and hit a string of bad luck. 

In 2009, Sinbad filed for bankruptcy, but the case got dismissed because he filed the paperwork the wrong way. In 2013, he filed again, and this time it was determined that he was almost $11 million in debt, $8.3 million of which came from taxes owed from 1998 to 2006, and then 2009 to 2012. Things went from Sinbad to Sinworse when the comedian suffered severe health setbacks like back surgery in 2015 and a stroke in 2020. At present, it looks like he's drained of all but $100,000 in assets, per Celebrity Net Worth.

Sinbad's money problems started with his career success (like many actors who are poorer than you thought). While we're not sure how much money he had at his peak, some sites put his net worth at $4 million as of 2023. That figure doesn't really add up, given that Sinbad owed $8.3 million in taxes in 2013, hasn't had a money-making hit since then, and reportedly has $100,000 as of this writing. But it at least represents an amount that folks would expect from a hugely successful comedian.

Back in 2009, Sinbad owned $2.5 million in taxes to the state of California. He filed for bankruptcy, but the judge threw his case away because of misfiled documents. Then in 2013, TMZ reported that Sinbad was filing for bankruptcy again. His delinquent taxes had risen to nearly $11 million at that point, which included $8.3 million in federal taxes from 1998 to 2006, plus federal and state taxes from 2009 to 2012. Some of the latter included California taxes equalling $2.3 million. Whether or not he ever partially or fully paid the $2.5 million owed to the state in 2009 is unknown. Plus, Sinbad owed $374,979 to American Express and $32,199 to Bank of America. At the time, he was earning about $16,000, which is plenty for most people, but not nearly enough to cover his debt.

As HuffPost quoted Sinbad that year, "Have you ever seen me in a Bentley? Have you ever seen Sinbad with a big chain? This is the same jewelry I've been wearing. This is a present, this is my wedding ring, this is the same cross."

Being careless with finances is one thing, but suffering physical problems is another. Sinbad's endured some serious surgeries over the years that haven't exactly helped out his financial situation. In 2010, he took to Twitter (now X) and very wrote in good spirits. "Okay day 3 of knee replacement! It is taking me 15 mins to write this tweet. Soooo that's what drusgs. Make you feel like. Help me." In fact, Sinbad's had two complete knee replacements. He also took a spill while skiing that "nearly paralyzed" his shoulder, per the Estes Park Trail Gazette.

In 2015, Sinbad underwent his most major surgery yet involving a fusion of multiple vertebrae. On November 4 that year, he posted a hospital bed selfie to X. "Surgery was good last night," he wrote. "Double fusion for the back — 10hr." The next day, he followed up with another tweet: "Thank everyone for their prayers. I shall be back up soon. This surgery was no joke." We don't know the exact cause for the surgery, but it's often related to back pain and can involve removing the disc between vertebrae and inserting a titanium disc in its place. While these kinds of surgeries are difficult enough, they also come with big medical bills. We don't know how much these procedures cost Sinbad, but it couldn't have helped his finances. 

Sinbad's fortunes hit their lowest point in 2020 when the comedian suffered a life-changing stroke. At the time, his family made a website called The Journey Forward devoted to informing the public about the details of his illness and recovery. It's since been made private but remains archived online. As the site says, Sinbad suffered a double stroke, with one blood clot after the other traveling from his heart to his brain. Surgery was successful following the first, but the next day, another caused his brain to swell and bleed. He went into a coma, was put on a ventilator, woke up, and has since undergone "intense therapy." Some of his limbs came back to life, and he's started walking and talking again. In a recent Instagram post from March 2024, Sinbad addressed the camera and even finished with a little comedy routine. "Expect to see more of me soon, and don't freak out if you turn out and I'm standing right behind you," he said.

Naturally, all that medical care isn't cheap. As Forbes reported in 2022, Sinbad's family created a Sinbad collectible toy to fundraise for his health costs, with each costing $350. There were 40 made in total. How Sinbad's medical care factors into his current estimated net worth of $100,000 — and how much of that number is based on assets like cars rather than money in the bank — we can't say. But we can definitely wish all the best for Sinbad, now and moving into the future.

For some more interesting reading, check out some other 1980s stars who lost all their money.