Danny Trejo's Shrinking Net Worth Took A Beating After Owing The U.S. Government $2 Million In Taxes
When people look back on Danny Trejo's career years from now, he almost certainly will be remembered as someone who made the most of every opportunity he got. After Trejo got his first role pretty much on accident, Trejo proved time and time again that he could stand out onscreen even if he didn't have any lines.
Unfortunately for Trejo, at one point it seemed very clear that casting directors had typecast him because of the way he looked. Best known for coming across as a total badass and his distinctive chest tattoo, he wound up being cast in a long list of movies as a criminal.
Fortunately for Trejo and his millions of fans, however, he continued to make the most out of every role he landed, and he started to amass a fan following. Once filmgoers saw Trejo for the actor he was, he finally started to get more opportunities and the rest is history.
Since he became a legitimate movie star who appeared in movies of all genres, everyone assumed Trejo was making a lot of money. While it is true that Trejo was cashing in at one point, things eventually turned around and he got hit with a judgment that he owed the I.R.S. $2 million.
Why Danny Trejo Went Broke
Over the years, there have been several famous actors who've gone on a spree where they starred in a long list of movies every year. For example, there were times when it sometimes felt like Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson had new movies coming out weekly.
Despite how busy Cage and Jackson have been as actors, it seems like they barely worked at all when you compare their filmography to Danny Trejo's. After all, as of the time of this writing, Trejo has a truly staggering 413 acting credits on IMDb and some of those roles included appearing in several episodes of the same show.
Of course, anyone who follows Trejo's career will already know that many of the projects he has appeared in were independent. However, Trejo has become such a talented actor that he has been cast in a very long list of major projects as well.
Some of Trejo's most notable credits include roles in movies like Con Air, Halloween, Heat, as well as Dora and the Lost City of Gold among others. Trejo has also starred in several Robert Rodriguez films including appearing in the Spy Kids, Machete, and Desperado movies among others.
Thanks to all the big and small roles that Trejo played during his lengthy career, he was able to have an impressive amount of money in his bank account. In fact, at one point it was reported that Trejo had a $8 million fortune.
Unfortunately for Trejo, however, his finances reportedly have taken a pretty big hit over the years. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Trejo is now worth just $500 thousand which obviously is a huge drop from the $8 million he reportedly once had.
As for is seems like Trejo lost a lot of his money, there appears to be more than one reason for that. By far the most obvious reason that Trejo's fortune isn't what it used to be is the I.R.S. came after the actor.
In February 2023, TMZ reported that Trejo had informed them that he was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As TMZ's report made clear, however, Trejo told them that he wasn't going bankrupt because he was broke.
"The legendary actor tells TMZ ... he's filing Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which mostly has to do with reorganizing his assets to help deal with this debt he owes Uncle Sam -- which he says is about $2 million in taxes."
TMZ also reported that according to Trejo, he didn't get in the hole with the I.R.S. because he intentionally didn't pay taxes. Instead, Trejo said he found himself owing the government so much money by accident.
"Part of the reason he fell into this hole ... Danny says he was mistakenly claiming deductions over the years that caught up with him. He even jokingly tells us he now realizes that dog grooming isn't a legit expense you can write off."
Another possible factor that could play a role in Trejo reportedly having diminished finances is the actor has a long history of generosity. One such example of that is in 2020 Trejo donated food to the families of 800 emergency workers.
Why Danny Trejo Easily Could Become Rich Again
When there were headlines that revealed that Danny Trejo was declaring bankruptcy, there was no way to pretend that was a good thing. After all, nobody declares bankruptcy because things are going exactly how they hoped financially.
Fortunately for Trejo and a lot of other people who've gone bankrupt, however, doing that doesn't necessarily have to destroy someone financially. More than that, assuming Trejo actually currently is worth $500 thousand, it almost certainly is just a matter of time before he is a millionaire again.
First off, there is the most obvious reason why Trejo should rebound financially. Since Trejo is a famous actor that people in Hollywood love to cast, he will continue to bring in a lot of money from movies and TV shows.
As of the time of this writing, IMDb lists 25 upcoming projects that Trejo appears in. With that in mind, it seems all but certain that Trejo will continue to work constantly. On top of that, it seems very likely that Trejo will return to the franchises he already is a part of including the Machete movies.
While it seems likely that Trejo's main source of income in the future will be his acting roles, he has other ways to make money as well. After all, Danny owns Trejo's Donuts as well as Trejo's Tacos and if things turn out well, both of those businesses could be very rewarding for him.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGibmqaernq1vsSjpmamlal6uLvRrZ9mmpGjuLPBz62asmWfrLK0ecirqmZqXaK2rbjIqKVmoZ5iwaLExKxm