I just re-read the story of Macaulay Culkin, and honestly, it's one of those things that makes you reflect on how money can destroy families.

This guy was earning $4.5 million per movie at age 14. Just in the first Home Alone film, he received $100,000, but when the movie grossed nearly $500 million worldwide, he asked for $4.5 million for the sequel. By age 12, he was richer than his own parents.

But here’s the dark part. His father, Kit, quit his job to "manage" his career. And it wasn’t normal management, you know? They delayed filming for entire 9 months just because they could. The studios waited. Macaulay wanted to rest, but his father completely ignored him. There are even stories that he didn’t even give him a bed to sleep in, supposedly to "remind him who was boss."

In 1995, his parents separated, and legal chaos erupted. His mother couldn’t even pay rent because legal fees ate up everything. Macaulay didn’t even know how much money he really had. The only thing he could do was take his parents out of control of his trust fund.

His father got so furious that he didn’t even show up on the last day of the trial. Macaulay never saw him again.

What’s interesting about Macaulay Culkin’s fortune isn’t just that he earned millions as a kid, but how his parents felt that money belonged to them. As if it were their success, their money. This happens a lot with child stars.

This story demonstrates something many don’t want to admit: without a healthy relationship with money, it will always come above everything. Even above family.