There’s a story I can’t get out of my head. Macaulay Culkin became a millionaire at 12. Yes, that kid from Home Alone. But that early fortune completely destroyed his family.

In his first film, he received only US$100 mil. Nothing special. But when the film grossed US$476 million worldwide, the conversation changed. For the sequel, Macaulay demanded US$4.5 million. At 12, he was already richer than his parents. Sounds incredible, right? But this is where the dark side begins.

When his father, Kit, saw his son making so much money, he quit his job to become his company’s boss. But control kept turning more and more obsessive. The directors wanted Macaulay in every film. He and his father delayed filming The Good Son by a full 9 months just to raise the paycheck. Meanwhile, no one asked whether the child was tired.

Macaulay speaks openly about how his father controlled him. He said his father wouldn’t even give him a bed to sleep in, just to remind him who was in charge. Macaulay Culkin’s fortune, which should have been a blessing, turned into a family prison.

In 1995, his parents separated, and a legal battle began over his custody and the money. The mother’s legal fees were so high she couldn’t even pay rent. They were about to be deported. And the worst part: Macaulay had no idea how much he owned. To access his own fortune, he had to remove his parents’ names from the trust fund.

When that happened, the father got so furious he didn’t even show up on the last day of the trial. They never got news of each other again.

What strikes me about this story is how Macaulay Culkin’s parents felt that that fortune was theirs, not his. As if the money earned by the child belonged to the adults. This happens a lot with child stars, but it reveals something deep: money can destroy a family in ways that few things can. Without a healthy relationship with money, it will always come above everything, including the family.