---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ten million dollars after I'd become a…"
description: "\"Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply in debt.\" — Sammy Davis, Jr"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png"
---

#  Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply…

![“Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply in debt.” quote by Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png)

> “Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply in debt.”

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He reveals that despite fame, he remained financially struggling, highlighting the gap between public image and private reality.

**In simple terms:** Fame doesn't guarantee wealth.

Key Takeaway

Beware of assuming wealth from success.

Themes

fame finance illusion

Mood

cautionary insightful

Type

biographical financial

When to use this quote

- entertainment industry
- personal finance
- career planning

Key Concepts

financial instability public image

Questions to Reflect On

- What does this say about the entertainment industry's financial structures?
- How can artists protect themselves financially?

A Different Perspective

Success can mask underlying debts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Million dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-dollars/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/)

## Related quotes

> [There's something odd about telling people, artists, that they need to work for free to be pure while you're sitting there getting a salary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astra-taylor/there-s-something-odd-about-telling-people-artists-that-they-need-to/)

[Astra Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/astra-taylor/)

> [I wasn't worth a cent two years ago, and now I owe two million dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-wasn-t-worth-a-cent-two-years-ago-and-now-i-owe-two-million-dollars/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“Like all other self-respecting peoples, we have no intention of paying our debts. Or, to be more nearly accurate, the capitalists who expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/like-all-other-self-respecting-peoples-we-have-no-intention-of-paying/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you put a purchase on a charge card, you're paying it off forever. You have to know how to pay it off before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-meeks/if-you-put-a-purchase-on-a-charge-card-you-re-paying-it-off-forever/)

[Gregory Meeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-meeks/)

> [People should watch out for three things: avoid a major addiction, don't get so deeply into debt that it controls your life, and don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/people-should-watch-out-for-three-things-avoid-a-major-addiction-don/)

[James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/)

> [I finished my higher education deeply in debt and with seven years of bad credit in my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-abrams/i-finished-my-higher-education-deeply-in-debt-and-with-seven-years-of/)

[Stacey Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-abrams/)

> [While most of us are trying to be more frugal, the loss of a job, a divorce, or a medical emergency can quickly sink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-madigan/while-most-of-us-are-trying-to-be-more-frugal-the-loss-of-a-job-a/)

[Lisa Madigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-madigan/)

> [The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-cost-of-college-education-today-is-so-high-that-many-young-people/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [I was deeply in debt. I had enough food to last a day and how am I going to have enough food to last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-roumie/i-was-deeply-in-debt-i-had-enough-food-to-last-a-day-and-how-am-i/)

[Jonathan Roumie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-roumie/)

> [You know how many movies it took Tom Cruise before he was making 5, 6 million dollars? It probably took a billion dollars in box office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-patric/you-know-how-many-movies-it-took-tom-cruise-before-he-was-making-5-6/)

[Jason Patric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-patric/)

> [In certain parts of the world - where I'm at right now in New York, you're going to pay a whole lot more. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrine-steffans/in-certain-parts-of-the-world-where-i-m-at-right-now-in-new-york-you/)

[Karrine Steffans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrine-steffans/)

> [I mean a real police state just to get a token recognition of a law. It take, it took, I think, 15,000 troops and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-mean-a-real-police-state-just-to-get-a-token-recognition-of-a-law/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [I draw the line at some things. Some things I won't do for any amount of money. Like for instance, there's a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/i-draw-the-line-at-some-things-some-things-i-won-t-do-for-any-amount/)

[Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/)

> [A man with a million dollars can be as happy nowadays as though he were rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-mcallister/a-man-with-a-million-dollars-can-be-as-happy-nowadays-as-though-he/)

Ward McAllister

> [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/)

[Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/)

## More by Sammy Davis, Jr

> [After I decided to become a Jew, only then did I learn that the Jews don't have all the money. When I found out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/after-i-decided-to-become-a-jew-only-then-did-i-learn-that-the-jews/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [Alcohol gives you infinite patience for stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/alcohol-gives-you-infinite-patience-for-stupidity/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [I don't have many easy songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/i-don-t-have-many-easy-songs/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [My home has always been show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/my-home-has-always-been-show-business/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [Everything Michael Jackson does on stage is exactly right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/everything-michael-jackson-does-on-stage-is-exactly-right/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [There's nothing that can match Broadway for stature and dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/there-s-nothing-that-can-match-broadway-for-stature-and-dignity/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [Being in public with May and the children was too heavy. I was irreversibly tuned in to everyone around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/being-in-public-with-may-and-the-children-was-too-heavy-i-was/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> ["The Entertainer" He did it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/the-entertainer-he-did-it-all/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [Most orgies that you go to, I have found, most of it is sad. All that wildness, all those laughs were like the shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/most-orgies-that-you-go-to-i-have-found-most-of-it-is-sad-all-that/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [During three decades, along all the highways of my youth, Frank had always been there for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/during-three-decades-along-all-the-highways-of-my-youth-frank-had/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [There are certain romances that belong in certain cities, in a certain atmosphere, in a certain time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/there-are-certain-romances-that-belong-in-certain-cities-in-a-certain/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [Reality is never as bad as a nightmare, as the mental tortures we inflict on ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/reality-is-never-as-bad-as-a-nightmare-as-the-mental-tortures-we/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [I hadn't been in Vegas 20 minutes when I got word that the bookmakers were offering three to one that Frank wouldn't show for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/i-hadn-t-been-in-vegas-20-minutes-when-i-got-word-that-the-bookmakers/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [Once I get outside my house in the morning, I'm on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/once-i-get-outside-my-house-in-the-morning-i-m-on/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

> [I'd learned a lot in the Army. I knew that above all things in the world I had to become so big, so strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/i-d-learned-a-lot-in-the-army-i-knew-that-above-all-things-in-the/)

[Sammy Davis, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

[Explore all 70 Sammy Davis, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/)

## More Debt quotes

> [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [Praise will come to those whose kindness leaves you without debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/praise-will-come-to-those-whose-kindness-leaves-you-without-debt/)

[Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/)

> [“Most people, given more money, only get into more debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/most-people-given-more-money-only-get-into-more-debt/)

[Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/)

> [“An honest man is a debtless man, he doesn't owe anyone anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-honest-man-is-a-debtless-man-he-doesn-t-owe-anyone-anything/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [It is perhaps my greatest hope, Mr. President, that some day we'll consider tax and spending measures with no one else in mind but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/it-is-perhaps-my-greatest-hope-mr-president-that-some-day-we-ll/)

[John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/)

> [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/)

[Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/)

> [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/)

[E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/)

> [I love Black Sabbath. They made an amazing contribution to music today. Almost every band that made it big in the Nineties owed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-love-black-sabbath-they-made-an-amazing-contribution-to-music-today/)

[Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/)

> [“The human eye is restricted to see the useen, because there’s a price to be paid to the rulers of this image and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-human-eye-is-restricted-to-see-the-useen-because-there-s-a-price/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/)

[Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/)

> [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [Our sins are debts that none can pay but Christ. It is not our tears, but His blood; it is not our sighs, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/our-sins-are-debts-that-none-can-pay-but-christ-it-is-not-our-tears/)

[Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/)

> [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/)

[Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/)

> [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

Browse all 2,345 Debt quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply in debt.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sammy Davis, Jr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-star-i-was-deeply-in-debt/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Debt"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-star-i-was-deeply-in-debt/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/sammy-davis-jr-9783_debt_ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-s_1045062.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply in debt.” — Sammy Davis, Jr",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Sammy Davis, Jr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-davis-jr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Ten million dollars after I'd become...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-star-i-was-deeply-in-debt/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-davis-jr/ten-million-dollars-after-i-d-become-a-star-i-was-deeply-in-debt/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
