Rich, famous and tussling with the taxman

Nicholas Cage

The star: The Academy Award-winning actor (for "Leaving Las Vegas") is best known for the films "Moonstruck," "Con Air" and "National Treasure." He is the nephew of "The Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola and former husband to Lisa Marie Presley.

Amount owed: $13.3 million

What happened: Cage's tab with the IRS dates back to 2002, with subsequent liens in 2003, 2004 and 2007. In 2009, Cage fired and sued his business manager-accountant Samuel Levin for $20 million for making "numerous highly speculative real estate investments" that led him "down a path toward financial ruin," court documents show. Levin's countersuit claimed Cage was wild at heart and blew $33 million on real estate, purchased 22 cars, including nine Rolls-Royces, and bought castles in England and Germany against his advice. Cage lost two homes in New Orleans to foreclosure in 2009. The two settled their face-off out of court in September 2009.

The outcome: Nic is apparently acting his way back into the black. According to TMZ, Cage repaid the IRS $6.3 million in April 2012 for unpaid taxes from 2007, then coughed up another $660,000 eight months later. While he still owes Uncle Sam more than $6 million, earnings from "The Croods," "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" and the forthcoming "National Treasure 3" should have him riding debt-free in no time.