Wealth & Woes: Inside Armie Hammer's Long Line Of Family Scandal

Michael Hammer is a bit of a wildcard. He inherited nearly the entire fortune when his grandfather died, causing a Hammer family battle for the estate, and was set in his high-rolling, playboy lifestyle. Although his drinking and drug use seemed to temper when he met Armie's mother and devout Christian, Dru, on a plane in 1985, money issues, shady dealings, and rumors of offshore accounts were abound.

Michael moved money around from the Armand Hammer Foundation, reportedly knew about stockpiles of cash his grandfather had hidden in overseas accounts (which led to the arrest of Michael's college friend whom he appointed as vice president of the foundation after he was found flying with tens of thousands in undeclared cash), and moved his family to the Cayman islands, where Armie lived adventurously as a child, inspired by the Tom Cruise movie The Firm about the Caribbean tax haven.

Michael most recently popped up in the papers not too long ago when it came out that his New York art gallery, Knoedler, had sold $80 million in fake Rothko's, Pollock's and more. Throughout that scandal, it was discovered that Michael was also basically using the gallery as a second wallet, purchasing multiple luxury cars on the company dime.

Bad luck followed. In 2005, the 21-room mansion he was renovating burned down. In 2011, Michael was arrested for a DUI (it was dropped), and lost the family's investment in Knoedler Gallery, a storied New York art staple, after it closed abruptly due to accusations it sold a fake Pollock for $17 million. After an investigation, it was found that the gallery forged about $70 million in fake paintings through the years.

Women are reportedly afraid to speak on record when it comes to Michael's personal proclivities, but rumor has it there is a "sex throne," painted with the family's coat of arms, involved.

Despite all that, Michael still enjoys society prominence around Montecito, from charity events to old car shows. He and Armie's mother divorced in 2012.