Phil Mickelson Lost Over $40 Million In Four Years Due To Gambling
Phil Mickelson went through a damaging stint dealing with gambling losses between 2010 and 2014, a timespan in which the golfing legend reportedly lost $40 million.
In an upcoming book titled "Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar," author Alan Shipnuck delved into Mickelson's run-in with financial problems in the 2010s after records from an insider trading scheme showed Lefty's depleted funds on behalf of gambling.
As relayed by Fox News Digital, "federal auditors discovered his gambling losses totaled more than $40 million from 2010 to 2014."
Additional detailing from the book stated that Mickelson's year-end profits would amount to zero gains or "in the red" during this span.
The author also noted that the golfer's extravagant spending compounded the losses from gambling.
"Throw in all the other expenses of a big life — like an actual T. Rex skull for a birthday present — and that leaves, what, $10 million?" Shipnuck added.
"Per the government audit, that’s roughly how much Mickelson averaged in annual gambling losses. (And we don’t know what we don’t know.) In other words, it’s quite possible he was barely breaking even, or maybe even in the red. And Mickelson’s income dropped considerably during his winless years from 2014 to ’17."
Shipnuck previously disclosed Mickelson's controversial remarks on a Saudi-backed Golfing League, which Lefty stated could open the doors for U.S. golfers despite calling the Saudis out for human rights violations in the same breath.
"They’re scary motherf-----s to get involved with," Mickelson said. "We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.
"They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the Tour."
Shipnuck still gave his best wishes to the famed golfer through his trials and triumphs.
“There is something Shakespearean about Mickelson’s arc. He had it all, or so it seemed, but greed and vanity and recklessness (and perhaps desperation) cost him everything, at least in the short term. But he will come back, because he always has, through myriad controversies and heartbreaks.”
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