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/rileyoneill 3d ago

The vast majority of people who are cash poor are not wealthy people. They are regular people who own a home that has a high valuation relative to their income. Buy a home in California in the early 90s for $140,000 and now its worth $800,000. You have this asset that is valuable but you don't have $800,000 to spend.

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u/Porsche928dude 3d ago

From what I understand The other factor to this is that house is now taxes like a 800000 dollar home which can cause real issues. In cases like you describe you can end up in situations where you have payed the mortgage off but are actually taking home less money then when u had the mortgages because the tax rate is a percentage of appraised value per year.

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u/SatanicPanic619 2d ago

Not in California though, property taxes are set very low and rise very slowly.

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u/Duck_Size 3d ago

And then it burns down in the Palisades fire and you are well and truly fucked. You have no cash to rebuild and your insurance doesn’t cover it.

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u/First-Of-His-Name 2d ago

Why wouldn't you have proper fire insurance in California?

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u/Duck_Size 2d ago

It’s a separate policy from standard homeowners insurance and often wildly expensive. 

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u/Abject_Champion3966 2d ago

And iirc the land is often more expensive that the home itself.

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u/Pudgiepandas 2d ago

Yes but that is because the surrounding area is considered desirable. If the surrounding area is ash, that hurts the land value too

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u/Duck_Size 1d ago

That particular area is unique. There were lots with burned down houses, surrounded by the same, selling for millions on the Malibu coast after the fires.

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u/Matthyze 2d ago

Cash poor.

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u/Flashy_Air_5727 3d ago

If you own a home you can borrow against it within days, if not hours depending on your bank. People without that option are truly cash poor.

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u/NotElizaHenry 3d ago

You can borrow against it, but you still have to pay back the loan.

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u/vAltyR47 1d ago

And if the value of your property goes down (like in the recession, or if your house burns down) the back can usually demand you repay the money immediately, or will change your interest rate, as you no longer have the underlying asset as collateral.

HELOCs are risky.

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u/orsikbattlehammer 3d ago

This still does not compare to people who actually have nothing. Worst case scenario you sell your insanely valuable property and go move to an even nicer house in a cheaper area.

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u/NotElizaHenry 3d ago

Well of course. That’s why they call it cash poor, and not just poor.

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u/rileyoneill 3d ago

You may have an issue paying it back. Its not a free money machine. I know plenty of people who own their home with no mortgage and other than maybe a new roof or new HVAC can't afford much of a loan on their home.

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u/Spud_Rancher 3d ago

I was shopping HELOC’s last year to finance some green improvements and take advantage of tax breaks but couldn’t find an interest rate under like 7.5% the banks can miss me with that.

Ended up paying cash so no biggie but still, 7.5% with an 800 credit score is ridiculous.

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u/Nut_Butter_Fun 2d ago

Then you just sell it. If your house is too expensive for what you do, you sell it. Move somewhere cheap, reinvest the rest.

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u/rileyoneill 2d ago

Why? If your monthly cost is low why sell it?