The New London Day wrote an article about the McMahon family declaring bankruptcy in the 1970s. Linda McMahon has used the bankruptcy story as a positive campaign message that enables her to empathise with people’s current financial problems, since she went through it herself. Her campaign managers sent out glossy brochures to voters noting that, 30 years ago, Linda and Vince lost their home and cars. The brochure also mentioned that Linda’s own car broke down on her way to bankruptcy court and that a tow-tuck driver had to give her a ride. Her opponents questioned the legitimacy of the brochure, which came with a photo of a 1970s tow-truck parked in front of the courthouse. The Day story, by David Collins, noted that this photo was a fake, which the McMahons have admitted. The actual bankruptcy was genuine as the McMahons filed in 1976, after Vince put his entire savings on the line to fund a closed-circuit event in which Evil Knievel attempted to jump the snake river canyon. The event bombed. The bankruptcy court files are long since gone. At the time Vince was thought to have been worth about $1 million. He was already involved in the wrestling business then, working for his father as an announcer for the WWWF and promoting shows in numerous major cities.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 26 July 2010 (subscribe here)
