Mike Tyson Credits Eddie Murphy for Teaching Him How To Spend His Millions — ‘These Guys Prepare You for When You Get the Check’

Mike Tyson will always be remembered as one of the greatest boxers of all time, but that’s not all he’ll be known for; he was also one of the best money spenders the world has ever seen. In his prime, Tyson spent hundreds of millions on dozens of cars, diamond necklaces, designer clothes, and mansions. 

Although Tyson is the only one to blame for his reckless spending habits seemed at the time, he actually developed his taste preferences by watching his peers. Tyson recently revealed that he actually learned what to spend his money on by studying successful peers such as Eddie Murphy. 

Eddie Murphy’s lavish lifestyle inspired Mike Tyson

Tyson’s insane spending habits were a constant spectacle in his heyday, but he may not be fully responsible for his high taste level. According to the legendary boxer, he learned which expensive items to buy by observing the lifestyles of his successful predecessors. His love for luxury vehicles, designer clothes, and massive mansions was largely inspired by Eddie Murphy.

“I learned a lot from Eddie, you know, as a kid being around him and looking at his house and this stuff, the cars,” Tyson said on a recent episode of his Hotboxin’ podcast. “He was the first guy, like in the ‘80s, cause he was out in the early ‘80s, we came out in the middle ‘80s close to the end of the ‘80s. But he came out in the early ‘80s, so he was before us and he would be seen with the Rolls Royces, the mansions, and we’d hang around him, yeah we would hang with him. And we’d say ‘This is what I’m going to do when we get some money.’”

Tyson explained that even though he and his friends had close relationships with very successful people at the time, they still hadn’t earned any big money yet. So as they worked, they used Murphy’s lifestyle as a blueprint for how they would spend their money when they eventually got it. 

“Like, we were famous, but we didn’t get the check yet,” Tyson continued. “You know, we were with all the famous people, and the rich people, but we didn’t get the check. Once we got the check, we knew what we were going to do with it.”

Mike Tyson says a person’s house lets you know they’re ‘not normal’

Continuing the discussion on celebrity lifestyles, Tyson also added an interesting observation. He claimed that although many of the people he spent time with seemed average, he could always tell they were unique based on their homes.  

“Oh, I’ve been to Liza Minnelli’s apartment, man it was like bigger than like the whole block in New York City,” Tyson said. “Listen man, I said ‘This what I’m gonna do when I get my money, this is what I’ma do when I get the check. These guys prepare you for when you get the check. This is what happens when you’re young and up-and-coming, everybody sees you’re special, you start hanging around these guys. And you know they seem like normal guys, you know they’re famous, but they’re hanging out, and then you know they’re special when you go their house. Oh s–t. This is not a normal m—er f—-er right here that be hanging out with us.”

Tyson definitely learned a lot from his famous friends, but unfortunately never absorbed their saving habits. Tyson ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2003, owing around $60 million dollars in debt. However, he was able to turn things around and is in a better financial position today.