Being a member of one of the biggest boy bands in the world might have its perks, but according to Lance Bass, money wasn’t one of them.
The singer, who rose to global stardom as a member of *NSYNC, has admitted he made “a lot more” money after the group disbanded.
“Well, the worst thing is that people think we were rich, because we weren’t,” he said in SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” Wednesday.
“We were famous, but we weren’t rich. I made a lot more money after *NSYNC than I did during *NSYNC.”
The 43-year-old spoke about why the group’s finances did not reflect their international success.
Lou [Pearlman] He took all our money,” he said of the band’s former manager.
Pearlman, who created the gang, perpetuated his famous $300 million Ponzi scheme, one of the largest in American history.
He mismanaged the group’s finances and was later sued by several members of different boy bands, including the Backstreet Boys.
Pearlman’s scheme through his Trans Continental companies was uncovered in 2006. He was convicted of fraud in 2008.
“He really took most of all our stuff… [made] horrible deals,” Bass said of Pearlman, who died behind bars in 2016 at age 62 during his 25-year sentence.
Despite the finances, or lack thereof, Bass recalled the “incredible” time he had with bandmates Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatric and Joey Fatone.
“Doing that, with those guys, was amazing. And you had some of the best experiences ever,” she said.
“Obviously it changed my life, it led me to so many things I wanted to do in life…they’re amazing, amazing guys,” he shared, adding that the group formed a “great support system.”
“I’m glad I was in a band because I had four of my brothers that kept you grounded,” he continued.
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“If you said something out of line, they’d just slap you like, ‘What did you just say?’ But if you’re a solo artist, you always say, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’ You are the boss. That’s it,” Bass said.
“But with a group, we had a great family unit around us, we were down to earth,” he added.
The boy band finally went on an indefinite hiatus in 2002.
Since then, Bass has ventured into various business ventures, including launching two of his own production companies.
Bass had formed the music management company Free Lance Entertainment and Lance Bass Productions in 2000.
Elsewhere, he invested in Rocco’s bar in West Hollywood and even launched a cocktail shaker.
He also did some screen work, starring in the 2001 film “On the Line,” which famously starred his former bandmate Fatone.
Following the success of his on-screen work, Bass hosted “Bachelor in Paradise” in 2021 and hosts his own “Frosted Tips” podcast.
