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How Nicolas Cage blew $150 million on mansions, his own private island — and a real dinosaur skull

Sascha Steinbach | Getty Images. From a haunted house to shrunken pygmy heads, Nick Cage has bought it all.

Best known for his roles in movies such as "National Treasure" and "Leaving Las Vegas," Nicolas Cage was once a top earner in Hollywood, worth $150 million. But Cage didn't hold on to his fortune for long. He squandered it away on a string of expensive and often eccentric purchases, eventually facing foreclosure on several properties and owing the IRS $6.3 million in property taxes. Now worth around $25 million, Cage is taking roles left and right to help pay off his debts. As chronicled in CNBC's "The Filthy Rich Guide," here's a glimpse at some of Cage's craziest purchases. Cage once owned 15 residences, including a $25 million waterfront home in Newport Beach, California, a $15.7 million countryside estate in Newport, Rhode Island, and an $8.5 million abode in Las Vegas, pictured below. He also purchased, for $3.4 million, the infamous LaLaurie mansion in New Orleans, known as one of the most haunted houses in America.

Over in Europe, Cage purchased not one but two castles for $10 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

$3 million got him a deserted island in the Bahamas.

He also sprung for a nine-foot-tall burial tomb.

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And even bought shrunken pygmy heads.

He blew $450,000 on the late shah of Iran's Lamborghini ....

... and another $150,000 on a pet octopus.

He spent yet another $150,000 on the first Superman comic.

Allegedly, Cage also once outbid fellow actor Leonardo DiCaprio for a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skull. The $276,000 artifact turned out to be stolen, however, and Cage had to return it to the Mongolian government.

This is an updated version of a previously published article . Watch a special marathon of CNBC's "The Filthy Rich Guide" on Saturday, January 20, from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. EST. Don't miss: Johnny Depp spends $200,000 a month on a private jet and $30,000 on wine—here's how else he blows his fortune Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook!

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