Yogi
08-16-2005, 09:34 PM
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."
This is sad...but his biggest mistake was to give someone else signing authority on his behalf.
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."
This is sad...but his biggest mistake was to give someone else signing authority on his behalf.