How Val Kilmer Lost So Much Of His Money

Val Kilmer was a 1980s bad boy pin-up. At the height of his career, he was flying high with leading roles in a slew of top Hollywood hits, such as "Top Gun," "True Romance," "Heat," "Batman Forever," and "The Doors." But then, it all came tumbling down, and Kilmer lost his A-lister cred — and his sizeable fortune.

Kilmer's chiseled cheekbones, spiked hair, and pout made him box-office gold and a tabloid staple. Like his "Top Gun" co-star Tom Cruise, Kilmer even dated Cher. The singer told the Daily Mail, "When we kissed, I thought my head would shoot right off my body." However, over time, reports began to surface that people didn't want to work with Kilmer, and his career began to tank.

The actor had always walked on the side of "complex." In his April 2020 memoir, "I'm Your Huckleberry," he admitted that his penchant for carrying a copy of "Ulysses" led to Cher branding him "pretentious." With that in mind, it's little surprise that he became difficult and demanding when he hit the big time. Entertainment Weekly notes that as Kilmer's per-picture paycheck soared to $6 million, his rep for being a demanding diva rose alongside it. "I don't like Val Kilmer, I don't like his work ethic, and I don't want to be associated with him ever again," John Frankenheimer, who directed Kilmer in "The Island of Dr. Moreau," told EW in 1996. Still, how did Kilmer go from making serious bank to being seriously broke?

Val Kilmer split from his wife, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, in 1995, and his behavior reached peak bad boy boorishness in the aftermath. The couple's break-up first shed light on Kilmer's monetary woes. They have two children together, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer, and when he left, the actor agreed to pay $27,500 a month in support. However, according to TMZ, Whalley-Kilmer was forced to file a lien against his New Mexico ranch in 2007 for alleged non-payment. The couple settled in 2008. Still, she was back in court in 2011, once again filing for a lien amid accusations that Kilmer was a deadbeat dad.

But that wasn't Kilmer's only financial headache. DetNews.com (via TMZ) reported that the IRS filed its own lien against Kilmer's ranch in 2010 for $498,165 in back taxes. It was the second time around for them, too. The IRS previously filed a lien in 2009 for $538,000.

Meanwhile, perhaps in a bid to offload the jinxed ranch quickly before it received any more liens, Kilmer slashed its sales price by $10 million. The San Diego Tribune reported that the 5,328-acre property was listed for $33 million in 2009 but dropped to $23 million the following year. It was still in his possession six years later, resulting in Kilmer carving more cash off the price tag. The realtor's website (via Yahoo! News) listed the property at $18.5 million in 2016. In the meantime, even more debtors were knocking at Kilmer's door.

Val Kilmer was soon troubled by more than just his ex-wife and the IRS being his back. TMZ reported that in 2013, a company Kilmer allegedly hired to sort out his web of monetary messes slapped him with a $128,000 lawsuit for non-payment of fees. Very meta. For his part, Kilmer denied ever hiring them.

Then, amid his financial nightmares, news broke that Kilmer had been diagnosed with cancer. And things were pretty serious at one point. "Val was a wonderful guy who is dealing with exactly what I had, and things don't look too good for him," Michael Douglas, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2010, told The Sun in 2016. "My prayers are with him. That's why you haven't heard too much from Val lately." Well, it appears Douglas wrote his good pal off prematurely. That said, there is no doubt that cancer put Kilmer through the wringer, and sadly, it resulted in permanently damaging his voice.

In a candid interview with The New York Times in 2020, Kilmer, who is now in remission, revealed that he'd been loathe to seek treatment. Still, his kids ultimately persuaded him to, leading to grueling rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and a tracheotomy. Kilmer offered unflinching insight into his life pre-, during, and post-diagnosis in his 2016 documentary, "Val." The film comprises footage captured by Kilmer throughout his career as "one of Hollywood's most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors."