Although the decision to file bankruptcy should not be taken lightly, it is nothing to be ashamed about.  It can be the first step towards your future persoanl and financial success.  Below is a list of some great and other famous Americans who found it necessary to file bankruptcy.  All-in-all, not a bad group of people to be associated with:

Abraham Lincoln - 16th president of the Unites States- twice filed bankruptcy

Ulysses S. Grant - 18th president of the United States

Thomas Jefferson - founding father, author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd president of the United States

William McKinley - 25th president of the United States

Dave Ramsey - self-professed “get out of debt” guru

Walt Disney - as in Mickey Mouse and Disneyland

Rembrandt Haremenszoon Van Rijn - Dutch painter

P.T. Barnum - filed for bankruptcy in 1871

Mark Twain - American author

Oscar Wilde - playwright

Henry John Heinz - condiment manufacturer famous for Heinz ketchup (my personal favorite)

Milton Hershey - founder of Hershey's chocolate

Henry Ford - automobile manufacturer

J.C. Penney - founder of the department store chain

Mickey Rooney - actor

Debbie Reynolds - movie actress and hotel/casino owner

Johnny Unitas - NFL Hall of Fame quarterback

Dorothy Hamill - figure skater, Olympian

Bjorn Borg - tennis star

Jerry Lee Lewis - rock and roll star

Burt Reynolds - shortly after his divorce from Loni Anderson

Sherman Hemsley - aka George Jefferson of “The Jefferson’s” sitcom

Gary Busey - actor

Nicholas Cage - actor

“Octomom” Nadya Suleman - famous procreator

Kim Basinger - actress, former wife of Alec Baldwin

MC Hammer - entertainer, musician, dancer (Hammer Time)

Willie Nelson - country music legend

Larry King - talk show host

Donald Trump - filed two separate Chapter 11 for his hotels/casinos

Mike Tyson - boxer, filed Chapter 11

Joe Lewis - boxer

Warren Sap - NFL football player

Terrell Owens - NFL football player

Leon Spinks - boxer

Stephen Baldwin - actor

Jose Conseco - MLB baseball player

Janice Dickinson, self proclaimed "first supermodel"

Vince Neil - lead singer of “Motley Crue”

Donna D'Errico, former Baywatch babe and ex-wife of Nikki Sixx of "Motley Crue"

George McGovern - former presidential candidate

John Conally - Texas governor who was injured while riding with President John F. Kennedy at the time of his assignation