Justin Bieber has been on the tabloid radar a bit more than usual lately. The super star’s massive $200 million catalog deal was a boss move to many, but insiders say it was less of a power play and more of a financial lifeline.
Get this, according to sources close to the pop megastar, Bieber was in deep financial distress when he greenlit the sale. Mounting debt from his abruptly canceled 2022 tour left his team scrambling for cash, and selling off his catalog became a last resort to raise fast liquidity.
Reportedly, longtime manager Scooter Braun urged Bieber to hold off until early 2023 for tax-related benefits. Bieber didn’t wait. He pushed forward on his timeline.
But that decision opened the door to deeper money problems—and a messy fallout with Braun.
An audit conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and finalized in April revealed that Bieber still owes Braun close to $9 million. According to documents, that debt stems from a personal loan Braun extended to cover expenses during Bieber’s troubled tour run.
There’s been plenty of finger-pointing. Some early reports claimed Bieber was buried under nearly $20 million in liabilities. His business manager, Lou Taylor, pushed back hard on that number. Taylor claimed Braun had been overpaid, to $26 million in commissions.
Not one to back down, Braun clapped back with his audit through Hybe, the entertainment conglomerate where he heads U.S. operations. His version of the books said Bieber owed just $1 million—and he’d even waived that.
But Bieber wasn’t buying it. He requested an independent review from PwC, whose findings contradicted both camps: the real debt is over $8 million owed to Braun. The conflicting numbers have only fueled speculation that the relationship between Bieber and his former manager is all but broken.
Adding another twist, 2024 whispers hinted Bieber might be prepping legal action against his financial advisors over a rumored $300 million hit to his fortune. But insiders pointed the blame in another direction—Bieber’s lavish lifestyle.
“He spends eye-watering amounts every month,” one source told Page Six. “At one point, he couldn’t even qualify for a credit card. He’s surrounded by people who don’t have his best interests at heart.”