Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Mark Twain, Late in Life, Deep in Debt

1894 was a bad year for Mark Twain. At the end of the year he found himself about $100,000.00 in debt. Twain was a lot of things. He was not a shrewd business man.

Here’s what he had to say about the situation:

“If I live I can pay off the last debt within four years, after which, at
the age of sixty-four, I can make a fresh and unencumbered start in life.”

By the end of 1898 he paid off his creditors in full.

2 comments:

Grimfairy said...

If I'm not mistaken, it was thanks to Twain's friend, Henry Rogers, that he was able to fulfill his goal. He proved to be a valuable friend indeed.

Karine and Tom said...

Twain placed his business affairs in the hands of Standard Oil CEO Henry Rogers in 1895. Rogers was a good friend. He negotiated the sale of Twain's copyrights to Harper's, which ensured an annual income of $25,000. That income, and the $35,000 that Twain earned from the worldwide lecture tour, was used to pay off the debt.