Charlie Sheen has a complicated relationship with money. During his “Two and a Half Men” days, he had an estimated net worth of $150 million. But since then Sheen lost a lot of that money. By April 2024, his net worth had plummeted to just $3 million. His financial health started to decline after Sheen left “Two and a Half Men” in 2011. His character was killed off from the hit CBS sitcom amid the actor’s increasingly self-destructive behavior, TMZ reported. However, Sheen’s lifestyle reportedly didn’t change.
As he continued to feud with producer Chuck Lorre, Sheen struggled to find new gigs. At the same time, he faced personal issues that made him dig deep into his pocket. When Sheen learned he had HIV in 2011, he shared the news with just a few people, but he claimed that those he trusted used his wish to keep the diagnosis from the public to extort him. “My trust turned to their treason,” he told Today in 2015, contending he had paid $10 million to buy their silence.
Sheen was also sued by an ex-girlfriend who said she was unknowingly exposed to the virus. In an out-of-court deal, he agreed to pay her $120,000, TMZ reported. “What people forget is that’s money they’re taking from my children,” he said on the Today interview. However, His ex-wife and mother of two of Sheen’s five children, Denise Richards, argued he was the one taking money from his own children by living a lavish lifestyle despite his financial troubles.
Charlie Sheen went on a spending spree in 2011
In 2019, Denise Richard accused Charlie Sheen of owing her $450,000 in missed child support payments for Lola and Sami, The Blast reported. According to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, Sheen had been diverting money to his family members and converting a big portion into cash to conceal his actual net worth. “[Charlie] has squandered over $24,000,000 from the sale in his interest in ‘Two and a Half Men’ to pay his personal debts and to support his extravagant lifestyle at the expense of support payments,” she argued.
In 2011, when Sheen lost his lucrative TV deal and was facing financial troubles connected to his HIV diagnosis, he reportedly went on a spending spree that suggested he struggled to modify his lifestyle amid his new financial reality. While in an at-home rehab attempt, he is said to have spent $1 million to add to his car collection, GQ reported. Earlier that year, he told a friend he would rent his mansion for $250,000 a month. Later that night, he hired a porn star for $5,000 to attend a party. Instead, he ended up paying her $30,000.
At the party, Sheen reportedly bought $20,000 worth of cocaine. He doesn’t deny struggling to keep his lifestyle under control during those times. “I was spending it like a drunken sailor and having a ball. I’d never made that kind of money before,” he told The Guardian in 2013. His net worth never recovered.
Charlie Sheen’s compulsive spending may correlate to mental health struggles
Charlie Sheen’s money struggles may be part of a bigger picture. John Fouts, the clinical director at Victory Starts Now, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides mental health services, told Nicki Swift that compulsive spending isn’t uncommon among people who suffer from addiction and other mental health disorders. “Impulsivity can be a symptom of mental illness, commonly with Bipolar Disorder during manic episodes. Use of substances and being under the influence also decreases impulse control and lowers inhibitions,” he said.
While Sheen was never formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he believes he might suffer from it. “I’ve been described or ‘diagnosed’ by enough people, and I guess at some point you have to take a look at it if it keeps walking like a duck, you know?” he said on “The Dr. Oz Show” in 2016 (via People). However, he was more inclined to believe his impulses were linked to his issues with addiction. “The manic behavior is usually in the throes of deep partying, deep substance abuse and drinking,” he said.
Sheen’s addiction struggles are well-documented, from suffering a stroke after a cocaine overdose in 1998 to his drug-fueled divorce from Denise Richards. Fout explained that overindulging can be an attempt to counter the negative effects of drugs and alcohol on the brain. “Spending sprees can also be a form of self-medicating or self-soothing that an individual may engage in with the hopes of feeling better,” he said.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
