Mike Tyson now celebrates his birthday (30 June) in presumably more low-key style than the majority of his 56 years on the planet, which have involved everything from big KOs to big cats.
When his life was going off the rails at various points, not many people thought Tyson would even reach his mid-50s. But now that he’s here and in alarmingly good shape, it’s the perfect time to count down Tyson’s top 10 most outrageously pricey purchases:
The spending sprees
10. Solid gold bathtub: bought for $2.2million for his then wife, Robin Givens, in 1988. They divorced a year later but Tyson got to keep the 24-karat tub, selling it in 2013.
9. Pigeons: but they’re everywhere – how can a man spend $400,000 a month on pigeons? Well, racing pigeons are special to Iron Mike and at one point he was housing up to 1,000 of them.
8. Jewellery: Tyson spent a reported £2million in just one trip to high-end jewellers Graffs before his first fight in the UK. Should’ve gone H Samuel across the road.
7. His 30th birthday party: in 1996, Tyson spent a whopping $410,000 on a birthday bash. It involved 13 chefs, 19 ‘lady friends’, Donald Trump, Jay-Z and a man hand-rolling cigars. Hope the cake was good.
6. Bentley Azures: Tyson’s car bill is crazy – he’s spent more than $4.5million on Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Jaguars and more. But the Bentley Azure convertibles stand out as Tyson bought four in one day at $319,000 each.
5. Evander Holyfield’s ear: OK, more of an impulse purchase, but when Iron Mike bit a chunk of cartilage out of Holyfield’s right ear in 1997 it cost him $3million and a 15-month ban from boxing. Ouch.
4. Weed: Tyson once admitted smoking up to $40,000 each month, but this is one area of investment that may actually pay off. His 420-acre farm in California (where cannabis is legal) is said to make over $500,000 per month.
3. Connecticut mansion: the sprawling 52-room, 17-acre property – one of the largest homes in the USA – was bought by Tyson for $2.8 million in 1996. Has everything from a nightclub to a full-size basketball court, and was later bought by 50 Cent after Tyson’s 2003 bankruptcy.
2. Face tattoo: only around $300, via tattoo artist Victor Perez, but definitely one of Tyson’s zanier purchases. Mike originally wanted a load of hearts on his face (“I was going to be the man of hearts, baby”), but Perez wisely talked him into the Maori tribal design.
1. Three Bengal tigers: of course it is. Tyson bought the white tigers (named Kenya, Storm and Boris) for $70,000 each, spent an estimated $200,000 a year on their food and hired an animal trainer on $125,000 to look after them.
