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.”
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