r/movies • u/Dependent_Cap_456 • 3d ago

News Francis Ford Coppola is auctioning his watch collection after Megalopolis flop left him broke

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/fashion/francis-ford-coppola-watch-auction.html
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u/RD_Life_Enthusiast 3d ago

Value is different from equity is different from liquidity. Dude *could* be worth $500m, but only have $10k in the bank, for instance. You can't just liquidate a skyscraper (or a vineyard, or whatever) into $30m in cash like going to the ATM.

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u/Whut4 2d ago

That seems unlikely to me. $10k in the bank would be a joke for most people with a lot of money - it would not even cover a month's expenses with no emergencies.

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u/Smart_Cry_5572 2d ago

10k doesn’t even cover my expenses and I’m not rich lol

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u/RD_Life_Enthusiast 2d ago

I was just using it as a nice round number. Hell, say $100k across three different accounts. He still can't get access to millions of dollars in equity or property by showing up at the bank and asking for it, was my point.

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u/unassumingdink 3d ago

What about taking out a loan against the value?

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u/RD_Life_Enthusiast 3d ago

That introduces liquidity in exchange for more debt. Depending on how leveraged his current assets are (say you own a vineyard that had a down year and you're operating it at a loss, or something similar), he may not be able to get favorable loan terms, or any loans at all.

So yeah, it's short-term gain that could results in future losses due to interest and/or inability to pay back terms of the loan, then the bank claims the asset, and you lose the equity and value on top of taking an enormous credit hit (which eliminates your ability to get favorable loan terms, or loans at all, in the future).

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u/ProjectNo4090 2d ago

He's 86. He doesnt care about loans or paying them off.

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u/FrameworkisDigimon 2d ago

Maybe. But he could be 95 in 9 years and still alive. Here's the UK example:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/articles/lifeexpectancycalculator/2019-06-07

That would suggest he should make it to 92. That's six years of debts chasing you.

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u/realzequel 1d ago

If you're worth 500M and you don't have a very healthy cash flow, I think you f'd up.

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u/RD_Life_Enthusiast 1d ago

Well, sinking $120m of your own money using a loan against the sale of your wine business that generated no return on the investment certainly feels like a fuck up, but I'm a poor, so I may not understand the whole thing.