| August 16th, 2005 03:34 PM |
|
|
| Lazy Bones |
Leonard Cohen virtually broke: report
TORONTO (CP) - Poet, singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen has discovered that his retirement savings, which he thought were worth more than $5 million US, have been depleted, Macleans magazine reports.
The famous troubadour, who has homes in Montreal and Los Angeles, is virtually broke, faces a whopping tax bill and has had to take out a mortgage to pay legal costs, the magazine reported in an exclusive cover story this week.
A forensic audit of his holdings found "massive improprieties."
"I was devastated," Cohen says of discovering last fall that his savings had been reduced to about $150,000. "You know, God gave me a strong inner core, so I wasn't shattered. But I was deeply concerned."
Cohen, 70, has raised questions about how his money was managed by a longtime trusted personal manager, who had signing authority on his accounts, and a financial adviser.
Cohen will release a new album soon with his current girlfriend, Anjani Thomas.
"This has propelled us into incessant work," he says of his financial troubles, adding: "It's one of the best albums I've heard."
|
| August 17th, 2005 12:08 PM |
|
|
| Gazza |
Shame.
A few years in that monastery instead of working obviously didnt help matters.
I think Laughin' Len's great.
His live shows are excellent too, which may surprise a lot of people.
|
| August 17th, 2005 12:33 PM |
|
|
| Martha |
You cannot trust anyone with your money. Money is a drug (the biggest drug of this culture) and nothing more. Money is the most destructive driving force on this earth. I despise it.
Try eating a plate of bills and see how long you last.
"We're all water in this vast vast ocean
Someday we'll evaporate together." |
| August 17th, 2005 08:50 PM |
|
|
| PeerQueer |
quote:
Martha wrote:
You cannot trust anyone with your money. Money is a drug (the biggest drug of this culture) and nothing more. Money is the most destructive driving force on this earth. I despise it.
Try eating a plate of bills and see how long you last.
"We're all water in this vast vast ocean
Someday we'll evaporate together."
You're right, and I've used that drug to buy many other drugs in my 34 years...but I can't give it up, not now, not ever. I'm a selfish-selfish bastard... |
| August 18th, 2005 12:48 PM |
|
|
| Lazy Bones |
Leonard Cohen sues ex-manager
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is suing his former business manager, alleging she siphoned $5 million US from his personal savings and investments while he spent time in a Buddhist monastery.
Cohen, best known for such introspective songs as Bird on a Wire and Suzanne, filed the lawsuit this week in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In it, he alleges Kelley Lynch took millions from his accounts between 1994 and 1999, while Cohen was living at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles.
A Los Angeles number for Kelley Lynch was disconnected and she could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The amount Cohen says was taken was far greater than the 15 per cent management compensation to which Lynch was entitled, according to the suit. Cohen, 70, had planned to live on his savings in retirement, according to the action, and had stopped touring and making new songs while at the monastery.
Cohen discovered Lynch's activities when an informant approached his daughter in October 2004, the suit says. He investigated and fired Lynch a short time later. She had worked for him for 17 years.
The suit also names Richard Westin, a tax professor and lawyer who allegedly was hired by Lynch to help her defraud Cohen.
Westin didn't immediately return a message left Wednesday.
|
|
