With all their wealth, celebs try to make savvy investments. However, the return doesn't always work as intended. Look at Kevin Bacon as an example, the actor lost millions and went completely broke, because of a Ponzi Scheme.Certain actors took things a step further, trying to buy an entire town. In the case of Kim Basinger, it didn't work out as the actress lost $20 million because of the failed investment. As for Johnny Depp, the actor bought a town in St. Tropez, and is trying to sell it for $63 million.We can also add Bruce Willis to the list of actors that tried buying a town. However, the actor took a different approach, starting off slow and purchasing a ranch, along with a few other establishments.Soon enough, the local press caught on to Willis' plan. This didn't sit well with the actor and soon enough, his plan fell flat, while locals weren't happy with his involvement either.
Bruce Willis Started Off By Purchasing Lots Of Land And Establishments In Hailey, Idaho
For Bruce Willis, the goal was to create a life away from the bright lights of Hollywood, in large part, to gain more privacy. However, soon enough, the town of Hailey was labeled as 'Haileywood' because Willis and Moore's involvement.
The couple started off slowly, buying a property in the area. However, soon enough, things would increase dramatically, with Willis buying a club in the area, for $200,000.
Along with the club came the Liberty Theater, which was donated to the Sun Valley Center for the Arts by Willis and Moore in 2016. The couple would also revive Shorty's Diner, a popular spot in Hailey.
Willis was making all the purchases under an alias name, in order to keep away from the media. However, little did the actor know, journalists in the area knew exactly what he was up to and once he was revealed as the man behind the plan, Willis was none too pleased.
Bruce Willis Lost It On The Local Media When It Was Revealed That He Was Trying To Buy The Entire Town
The name of his company was Ix Nay Investment Trust. However, according to Dana Schwartz, journalists knew exactly what he was doing. This didn't sit well with Willis, who's plan to slowly but surely buy, and entire town was exposed.
"We felt it was our duty, our journalistic responsibility, to let our readers know exactly who was buying property on main street, and I think he was less than happy with us over that," Wayne Adair, a former journalist on the case revealed.
Wayne Adair would also reveal that Willis threw a fit when his plan was exposed, and it caused the actor to withdraw from his advertisements.
"He came in here enraged, saying we were intruding on his privacy, and canceled all his advertising. It wasn't very smart. The next week we ran a story about him canceling his advertising account, and the story was picked up by the national news wires."
Ultimately, Willis' plan completely collapsed and in 2018, according to Insider, the actor sold his massive ranch for $5.5 million.
"Actor Bruce Willis has sold his 20-acre (8-hectare) ranch in central Idaho for $5.5 million," the publication writes.
The articles adds, "KTVB-TV reports in a story on Wednesday that's far below the original asking price of $15 million when the home was put up for sale in 2011."
As it turns out, despite Willis' optimism to own a town, things would completely fall apart behind the scenes, especially with the locals.
Locals Resented Bruce Willis When He Left Hailey, Idaho For Unpaid Wages And Failed Projects
Bruce's plan to take over Hailey eventually fell apart behind the scenes. According to Ranker, he was labeled as a harsh employer by the locals. In addition, it is said that working with Willis was a nightmare for locals, given that he left a lot of work unpaid. One local sued Willis for $54,000 over unpaid bills and work.
The statement reads, "What he's done to this place is turn it into a stage set he could make a movie on. He got the bands, the happening scene, the thugs, the huge cars, the klieg lights. This isn't reality. It's a projection of his on-screen persona."
It is also said that Bruce was planning on leaving Hailey due to his acting career.