Todd Chrisley, who is fashioning himself as the next Kris Jenner with his new USA reality show Chrisley Knows Best, is quite a character. The married, millionaire father of five has an obsession with perfection, and although he says he made his money in real estate, he’s excited to carve out a career in fashion by launching department stores. The family definitely lives large in a lavish 30,000-sq.-ft home north of Atlanta, and in a promo for the show Todd boasts about spending $300,000 a year on clothes, but People is reporting that their financial situation is very precarious. Perfection is expensive.
People says Chrisley filed for bankruptcy August 2012, listing $4.2 million in assets, and an astounding $49.4 million in debt. In the filing Chrisley said he only had $55 in a checking account and $100 cash. The $4.2 million in assets were from real estate holdings. His attorney says that his massive debt came from a real estate deal gone wrong. “He guaranteed a real estate development loan and it failed,” his attorney, Robert Furr said. “He was on the hook for $30 million. If he hadn’t had that happen, he would have been fine, financially.”
Chrisley also had mortgages totaling $12 million, owed the IRS $595,227.98 and got a $4.4 million loan from his wife Julie. “She is well-off,” his attorney said. “She has her own money. This is money that she lent him over the years for his business. It’s as simple as that.”
Last month, though court trustee Jason Pettie filed a complaint alleging that Chrisley transferred some of his wealth to his wife in order to hide assets. “Neither [Chrisley nor his wife, Julie] has been employed since 2012,” Pettie wrote. “However, they continue to live in lavish residences, drive expensive vehicles and travel extensively.” The trustee is also concerned with that $300,000 clothing budget, claiming that the expensive designer clothes Todd Chrisley wears might be considered assets.
Chrisley’s lawyer’s response: “He has cooperated fully. He has been totally honest and forthright. He is not hiding assets.”
As for the clothes, Chrisley’s lawyer Furr says they are willing to cooperate, “There are procedural aspects regarding the value of certain personal property that he owns. We’ll have the clothes appraised. But I go on eBay, and used designer clothes don’t sell for much. These are used clothes.”
UPDATE: The Chrisleys’s mansion is going into foreclosure, and they are downsizing to a two-bedroom condo in Atlanta.
