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Bill Cosby was once one of the highest-paid entertainers in the world. However, in a sign of his plummeting financial fortunes, the 86-year-old disgraced former comedian is being sued for defaulting on a $17.5 million mortgage for his New York City town house.
The coveted Upper East Side home – on which the patriarch of the much-loved Cosby Show was unable to maintain mortgage payments – is part of Cosby’s downward financial spiral. At the height of his powers, Cosby was worth $400 million. The town house – at 18 East 71st, a six-story, 12,060-square-foot home built in 1899 (according to Daytonian In Manhattan) – just steps from Central Park, was a surprise gift to his wife, Camille. It was a savvy buy. Cosby purchased the house through a lawyer for $6.2 million in 1987, during the peak years of The Cosby Show, then the number-one show on NBC and in the country.
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However, the home had a troubled history from the start of Cosby’s ownership. According to the L.A. Times, the couple accused their lawyer, Mary Waller – who oversaw the purchase – of stealing millions of dollars from them. Three years after closing on the home, the Cosbys put the property in the name of Camille’s mother, according to the New York Observer.
According to Yahoo, the couple has not made a mortgage payment since June and owes over $300,000 in taxes on the home. This latest default follows another – allegedly on a $4.2 million loan on a four-story Lenox Hill home they have owned since 1980, according to business website Crain’s.
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Cosby’s beloved reputation was wrecked through multiple high-profile lawsuits, during which time he denied all claims against him.
Cosby once owned homes in Connecticut, California and Philadelphia. However, according to Market Watch, he currently resides in a suburban Philadelphia home purchased for $225,000 in 1983, shortly before “The Cosby Show” began airing. The house – on a 3-acre lot, has seven bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms.
