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The Rise And Fall Of a Porn King

aol.com.au — "Five years ago Greg Lasrado drove a $500,000 black Lamborghini Diablo, rubbed shoulders with people such as Bill Clinton, lived between multimillion-dollar penthouses and bought racehorses for fun. Today his sole asset is a rusty ute, he lives in his parents' spare bedroom and spends most weekends helping his mum with the housework." A great read.

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  • Pogojoe, on 05/13/2008, -1/+41Wow. What a fall. This guy was huge here and made the paper just for buying one of the last riverfront blocks of land overlooking the city.
    • fatjoe, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4Ironic he fell off. It's not like porn did
    • PaulOwen, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1"When the unsavoury facts of a person's story are countered by their own considerate rationalization, a second opinion should be sought."

      Professor Henri Donnedieu de Vabres, Judge at Nuremberg Trials, Feb 1946
    • DroogInPhoenix, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1 I know the feeling, I was also born in 1970 so we were the same age when internet porn started to kick off... I ran sites with a husband/wife couple, it was pulling in 8 mill a year... Overnight the dotcomboom went bust. But I had fun, and I have no regrets, I have been rich, I have been poor, as long as im happy, and I am happier now than then.
  • jcorn1, on 05/13/2008, -0/+95The part that caught my attention was when he'd describe how he'd wake up, have lunch, buy a car....which was a typical for him as the average person who wakes up, checks email and maybe grabs a cup of coffee. How many people buy a car almost daily or even several times a month? He didnt have to worry about money and stopped checking on the people he thought he could trust to handle his finances. A lesson here for all of us, the buck stops with us and our ability to manage it.
    • mkay2008, on 05/13/2008, -2/+25Yup, the lesson is to never trust anyone.
      • dorkino, on 05/13/2008, -1/+35I don't trust your advice.
      • starchuck, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1If you read the article the lesson is that there are more important things to life than money and fast cars. You can enjoy life by having people that love you and having people to love.
    • petebot, on 05/13/2008, -1/+21I learned that lesson a long time ago from MC Hammer.
      • fatjoe, on 05/13/2008, -1/+3MC Hammer was super dumbass. He lived way more extravagantly than this guy
        • praisethelard, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1I don't think so. He just decided to let everyone in the world get paid dancing on stage for him.
    • KingBabi, on 05/13/2008, -0/+7Makes me think of the gizmondo guy.
      • mike17032, on 05/13/2008, -0/+7Thats different.

        He was a wanted criminal with ties to organized crime who milked the Gizmondo company for everything it was worth and drove it into the ground. It looks like he was a career criminal all along. The guy just didnt own 2 cars, he had 2 ***** Enzos (both reported as stolen because he stopped paying the bank for them), thats one of the rarest and fastest cars in the world and this guy has two. That kind of ***** doesnt happen every day.

        This guy was a normal dude who made it rich and then pissed it all away on drugs/cars/women. Its sad, but not exactly that uncommon.
    • diulei, on 05/13/2008, -3/+2Seriously, most people only buy a car like, psh, a few times a year.
  • FameMoney, on 05/13/2008, -6/+16Great read ...to bad that I can digg only once.
  • Darren05, on 05/13/2008, -25/+8Porn is a dirty game though I still feel sorry that he developed a heroin addiction.
    • dynelol, on 05/13/2008, -3/+3Shut up.
    • sockpuppets, on 05/13/2008, -0/+8Downloaded your mom huh?
    • mike17032, on 05/13/2008, -2/+1Who the ***** wants their porn to be clean?

      If you have never seen a dude ***** a pumpkin, you are missing the ***** out.
  • spearce, on 05/13/2008, -1/+122he's less then broke...he owes 5 million in back taxes. i remember an interview with Donald Trump and he said that he once found himself walking down the street in his $10,000 suit and he was approached by a homeless man for spare change. Trump remembers thinking that the bum was actually worth more then he was because of the millions of dollars of debt he was in. it amazes me that there are people on this earth who are somehow able to swing wildly from fabulous riches to amazing debt and back again. how do they get it so right and so wrong all at the same time?
    • TomK88, on 05/13/2008, -1/+18Leverage.
    • IphtashuFitz, on 05/13/2008, -2/+38People like Trump have excellent business sense, that's why they succeed, and also have huge egos, which is why they get into such trouble. They build up a huge pile of money and then start figuring they can do anything, that nothing bad will happen, they can throw their money at anything and make it instantly successful, etc. People like Trump, who manage to bounce back, are especially lucky because they're able to recognize the trouble they get themselves into, put their egos into check, and use their business sense to get back on their feet again.
      • nightsweat, on 05/13/2008, -6/+9Excellent business sense? Please. He's got a gift for being annoying and a penchant for self-promotion. He's no self-made millionaire. He started with his Dad's real estate empire.
        • fatjoe, on 05/13/2008, -0/+8uhhh.. you obviously haven't watched the documentary on him then mate. He didn't get to where he is just cause of his dad
      • bunit03057, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2Trumps ego is not really in check, he just used it to his advantage in the apprentice. Nightsweat he may not be a self-made millionaire only because he is a billionaire.
    • sockpuppets, on 05/13/2008, -2/+19*****
      • sockpuppets, on 05/13/2008, -3/+11Yay my comment disappeared. Wasn't there a new comment system coming?
    • rmxz, on 05/13/2008, -0/+15"it amazes me that there are people on this earth who are somehow able to swing wildly from fabulous riches to amazing debt and back again. ...how do they get it so right and so wrong all at the same time?"


      Simple - they simply try to accomplish big things - like starting businesses. When such big projects succeed they do very well. When they fail, they can lose big.

      In contrast, most people go for the $50-100K/yr salary. Not surprisingly, their highs are not so high, and their lows are not so low.
  • darkchild82, on 05/13/2008, -6/+63This story actually reminded me of the movie 'Boogie Nights'. I rented it a few years back just to see Heather Graham naked (honestly, I wasn't expecting much :-) )... but it ended up being a VERY good movie. For those who don't know the premise, its about a the porn industry, the problems the actors faced and how its transitioned from the 70's to the 80's (the VHS era). It starred Mark Wahlberg, Juilanne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy & Heather Graham - yeah, "big names!" you must be wondering but when it came out in 1997, the only big name this movie had was Burt Reynolds. The movies was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson - the man who helmed 'There Will Be Blood'.

    I strongly recommend watching it.
    • freeth1nker, on 05/13/2008, -0/+9"You've got the TOUCH!"
      • petebot, on 05/13/2008, -0/+7You've got the Poweeeerrrrrrr! Yeah!
        • sgtpppr, on 05/13/2008, -0/+6You give us the tapes. We get the record contract. We come back and give you your *****' money. Have you heard the tapes? Have you even heard them? We're guaranteed a record deal. Our stuff is that good!
          • lobster1138, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1That's not an MP, that's a YP.
          • phrenzy, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2Okay, now you're talking above my head. I don't know all of this industry jargon, YP, MP. All I know is that I can't get a record contract, we cannot get a record contract unless we take those tapes to the record company. And granted, the tapes themselves are a uh um oh, you own them, all right, but the magic that is on those tapes. That ***** heart and soul that we put onto those tapes, that is ours and you don't own that. Now I need to take that magic and get it over the record company. And they're waiting for us, we were supposed to be there a half hour ago. We look like assholes, man.
    • floridiot2, on 05/13/2008, -1/+7Plus there's a giant penis at the end!
    • phrenzy, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4"Let me explain to him in simple arithmetic. One, two three! Because you don't *****' get it, Burt! You give us the tapes. We get the record contract. We come back and give you your *****' money. Have you heard the tapes? Have you even heard them? We're guaranteed a record deal. Our stuff is that good!"
    • Nitengayle56, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1I agree, Boogie Nights was a great movie, and was also about porn star John Holmes( hope I have that last name right) who was one of the first well known persons to die of aids. Mr.Holmes lost alot more then just his corvette. Another movie about Mr. Holmes is WONDERLAND, with Val Kilmer, as Holmes. From Wikipedia, ( Holmes was the subject of a long article in Rolling Stone magazine in 1989 and a feature length documentary, and the inspiration for two Hollywood movies (Boogie Nights and Wonderland). What happened to Greg Lasrado ? How did he lose his money?
    • toddc612, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2"We will rock you.. We will roll you.. All day. All night. You feel. My heat. Feel, feel, feel, feel... FEEL MY HEAT!"

      Boogie Nights is my favourite movie of all time. Can you tell?
    • phrenzy, on 05/13/2008, -0/+0"What can you expect when you're on top? You know? It's like Napoleon. When he was the king, you know, people were just constantly trying to conquer him, you know, in the Roman Empire. So, it's history repeating itself all over again. "
    • doyoumrjones, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1"Can I kiss you on the mouth?"
    • darlyn, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1*quote from the film, which I just recently watched*
  • Darrelc, on 05/13/2008, -0/+29Very good read and he seems like a pretty sound bloke. Crap with money though, surely if you had that much you would think "Ill slap away a million just for a rainy day" or something.
  • ironicsans, on 05/13/2008, -0/+11See also Al Goldstein, founder of Screw Magazine, who ended up homeless (saying "My life is a travesty"). He was profiled in this slightly outdated New Yorker article: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/03/050103 ...
  • Alphateam, on 05/13/2008, -2/+132Easy cum easy go
    • Dylson, on 05/13/2008, -6/+1What?
    • NeoCortex, on 05/13/2008, -1/+17He saw, he came, he conquered.
    • triassic911, on 05/13/2008, -1/+3I see what you did there.
    • UNDERSTAR, on 05/13/2008, -2/+10Cum again???
    • BenBenMan, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2...will you let me go, bismillah! NO! We will not let you go! (let him go!)
      • Roflcopterrr, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1bismillah! We will not let you go! (let him go!)
        • GRVeee2, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Will not let you go, (Wooooaohah! OH OH OH )
          NO, NO NO NO NOO!
          OH MAMA-MIA MAMA-MIA! (MAMA-MIA LET ME GO!)
  • INDOAZZ, on 05/13/2008, -1/+72The MC HAMMER of Porn
  • IAmTheGuy, on 05/13/2008, -1/+17I'm pretty sure he has had many rises and falls in his days as a porn king.
  • shyboy2008, on 05/13/2008, -33/+6Easy cum easy go
  • Surefly, on 05/13/2008, -3/+6HAW HAW
  • billiamboy, on 05/13/2008, -6/+3apparently viagra doesn't work on your career when it goes limp.
  • trumpcard, on 05/13/2008, -12/+2Pornking ?this is the first time i'm hearing his name.
    • itsthebrod, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2As opposed to the other big business names of porn you regularly hear about? Not everything is publicized on Digg I guess.
  • aflaks, on 05/13/2008, -14/+3exactly which Lambo costs 500k?!
    • ralphthemagi, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1It's $500,000 AUD, not not USD. A few years ago that would be about right.
    • Dan11023, on 05/13/2008, -2/+8Diablo... it says it right there
      are u blind?
  • diggdiggerid, on 05/13/2008, -6/+7How does someone owe money in taxes? Whenever I make something I put aside x% of it, x being my tax bracket rate. 0_o Do they just forget they have to pay taxes or something?
    • metalgod79, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3Wesley Snipes did...
    • rmxz, on 05/13/2008, -0/+12Tax laws can be painfully convoluted things too.

      It's not uncommon for you to have a lot of stock in a non-public company that suddenly gets valued at some high price according to tax laws - even though you're not allowed to turn it into cash (often thanks to securities laws and lockout periods). It sucks to have to pay taxes on cash you can't access; but it indeed does happen. And during the .com burst sometimes those stocks fell in value faster than people were allowed to cash them out and indeed owed more money in taxes than their stocks were worth.
      • pak314, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1That usually happens with a particular type of stocks options where you are taxed when the options vest even if you didn't sell them. It would be like you getting payed a salary in company stock. The government wants its cut now not later. It created problems for people during the dot com boom because people thought their stock would stay high forever and didn't sell.
    • thanakar, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1He just didn't pay it or he thought the people taking care of his finances were paying it.
    • evlpanda, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1They have multiple businesses or shares of businesses which probably have wildly varying incomes, successful & unsuccessful ventures, employees and all across different countries/states.

      Tax can get very, very complicated, there is actually a whole field of professionals to deal with it called accountants. I am sure they hep make the tax laws as complicated and dynamic as possible to keep themselves employed.
  • mkay2008, on 05/13/2008, -5/+2Lol...awesome
  • mkay2008, on 05/13/2008, -1/+8He probably trusted the people in the industry. They probably lied to him from day 1.
    • Scrappy1850, on 05/13/2008, -1/+5i worked in the business for 5 years and met only nice people. everyone in the world has problems, but everyone i met in the adult industry was genuine and nice.
  • insonh, on 05/13/2008, -4/+8moral of the story
    anyone can sell porn but few are smarter than their customers
  • Tyrghast, on 05/13/2008, -0/+51I was surprised by how interesting that article was.
  • gwaggy12, on 05/13/2008, -3/+1It happens so often that the excess and temerity that makes a man rich ruins him in the end. What a tragedy.
  • orlyfactor, on 05/13/2008, -6/+19Next time save your money instead of buying a half a million dollar car. Fool got what he deserved.
    • sockpuppets, on 05/13/2008, -0/+10Lots of wealthy people have nice cars. There's Lamborghinis everywhere here in Palo Alto. The guy up my block has a McClaren F1 in his garage. If it's a minor part of your income it's a decent toy to have.
    • thanakar, on 05/13/2008, -0/+10His problem wasn't that he was buying cars, his problem was that he didn't take a vested interest in his own finances and left it up to others whom he 'thought' he could trust.
      • plnegative1, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2he didnt save ***** either.. he expected it to keep coming in from the websites.
    • mike17032, on 05/13/2008, -4/+4Pussy.

      If I hit it big, a Lamborghini is the first thing I would buy. Hell I guess I would have to buy my friends one or two as well, who else am I gonna race?
  • ramiro1975, on 05/13/2008, -1/+5It was Bunny, she never paid him back!
  • hopeast, on 05/13/2008, -1/+12Damn, how does someone lose 60 million dollars? I could live the rest of my life happily with 1 million. I guess this goes to show you, when it comes to money don't trust anyone but yourself.
    • cronot, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4"I could live the rest of my life happily with 1 million."

      I would say that too, but being through ups and downs (currently on a down), I can say this: if you don't learn to put in perspective what is REALLY important to you and what really matters, money addicts: the more you have, the more you want to have and more you want to spend.
    • aetherboy, on 05/14/2008, -0/+11 million? Not so sure about that any more thanks to the wonders of inflation. 2-3 mil, probably, but 1 mil you'd be living in the middle of nowhere where you can get a cheap place and cost of living is super low. Don't expect your quality of life to be very glamorous either.
  • JonTheGoose, on 05/13/2008, -2/+19When you work in the porn industry you're bound to get screwed.
  • Saabzilla, on 05/13/2008, -1/+18"police were called to Brisbane's city botanic gardens after passers-by found Lasrado sleeping in the front seat of his Lamborghini, with the engine still running and several hundred thousand dollars on the passenger seat."
    Wow, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who sleeps in his running Lambo with hundreds of thousands of dollars cash riding shotgun.

    The thing that they did not mention was that cash was for gas in the Lambo! That is what it has come down to.
  • mitikomon, on 05/13/2008, -3/+3why should we feel sorry for him? at least he has a great shot in his life. in spite of many of us.
  • CertifyedGoon, on 05/13/2008, -0/+24At least he found out what really matters at the end of the article.
  • dazem, on 05/13/2008, -0/+17id watch this as a movie.
  • xsecretfiles, on 05/13/2008, -0/+5I'm a horrible person..the whole thing made me LMAO

    ....sucks to be him
  • doremon313, on 05/13/2008, -8/+1Think with your brain, not your dick....
  • ramiro1975, on 05/13/2008, -2/+1I'm sure Bill Jeff had something to do with it
  • BigManOnCampus, on 05/13/2008, -0/+12He only rubbed shoulders with Clinton?? What is he? straight?
  • HoratioHellpop, on 05/13/2008, -4/+0//.. then head to the airport and be in another country by the close of play.//
    Sounds like the heroin kicked in during the interview ...
  • fatTJ, on 05/13/2008, -4/+4I Guess His Climax Came Too Early...
  • PabloMac, on 05/13/2008, -3/+1He has a lot to answer for.
  • iidestined, on 05/13/2008, -0/+11I hope he writes a book about his life so he can get out of his parents house.
  • floridiot2, on 05/13/2008, -0/+16So what sites did he start up? Not that I would recognize them or anything..
  • sponeil, on 05/13/2008, -6/+5Wow, what an asshat.
  • Kallius, on 05/13/2008, -4/+23"rubbed shoulders with people such as Bill Clinton" - wow, no surprise there.
  • krnldmp, on 05/13/2008, -13/+2If you make your riches in the the pone industry and you lose it all don't expect nobody to cry for yiz.
  • bigboyman2, on 05/13/2008, -4/+3If I ever get rich, no one would ever know. I would have a normal house, not spend extravagant money except on a security system, and hidden-away electronics all around my house. But outside, I'd have just a normal house =)
    • greenlight2001, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3Man, you're sooooo clever.
    • Ravatar, on 05/14/2008, -2/+2Good idea man, make money then do nothing with it. You really get the point.
    • esoterikism, on 05/14/2008, -0/+0if i ever get rich, i will join the scientologists and live in a hotel.
  • rowlodge, on 05/13/2008, -8/+3he thinks porn is legit?
  • Stanly22, on 05/13/2008, -0/+37Dugg for Bill Clinton posing with a porn king.
  • dildoolielly, on 05/13/2008, -3/+21Is it Clinton's fault yet?

    I just got here
  • bombula, on 05/13/2008, -2/+49What a fricking IDIOT. You have to be clinically retarded to blow $60 million.
  • subterfuge, on 05/13/2008, -1/+25as soon as i read "heroin addiction", it all made sense
  • rebump, on 05/13/2008, -0/+0Maybe he is not such a seemingly nice guy afterall?

    http://www.dnforum.com/f77/greg-lasrado-michael-gi ...

    Send that link to his mum. No, that is not me in that forum thread.
  • gleongelpi, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4A clown; a liar and a cheat. He got off easy.
    • Fenrirwulf, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2Are you talking about Clinton or the fallen King-o-Porn?
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