There is hardly an article you can read, or a story I can repeat that there is not "something" inaccurate in it. And it is typical for people to "guess" what the facts are and mis-information spreads faster than the true stuff!
I was looking for another thread that contained a lot of this info, but here is one that talks REALISTICALLY about HOW MANY CDs / CASSETTES Daniel "may" have sold over the years. The numbers may be big for an outsider (19,000 cassettes?) but do the math - if he got ALL the money (and he didn't!) from those cassetts (19,000 x 5) that would be $100,000 over the last 20 years = $5,000 / year.
http://www.hihowareyou.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=146Sure, there are other albums and deals, and there was a big Target commercial (probably the biggest single royalty payment he ever got!) so what does that come to?? $10,000 /year? $20,000 / year?
Most of the use of his stuff in movies and documentaries, etc. is "gratis" or done without any payment to Daniel.
The West Coast tour was a financial disaster (he got sick) and the European tour was a break-even event.
In short, Daniel is not a millionaire.
Daniel LIVES WITH HIS PARENTS!!! (for Pete's sake!) They are 80 and 81 years old. His attempts to live on his own over the years have almost always resulted in disaster.
If Daniel WAS a millionaire today, he wouldn't be tomorrow. He can't handle money!!! He doen't "value" it. He'd give it away, or spend it on comic books and soda pop! He "lives in the present" and planning and saving is hard or impossible for him.
None of this should be seen as "insulting" Daniel. He's spent maybe FIVE YEARS of his life in mental institutions!!! That would be like wasting away in prison - but worse! And many of his years outside of institutions were not good years.
The GOOD news is that for the last 6 years or so medication changes seem to have found the "balance" that was needed. He does get "manic" in degrees (usually from too much sugar) but he's not subject to the manic vs depression. He's doing very well. But that isn't going to catch up for all the "lost time" and "years' of his life. He's lacking in very basic skills for "surviving" on his own.
He lives on social security, and receives disability benefits. You can't do that if you're raking in the money. Because he's living with his parents, his father has been able to save as much as 50% of what comes in.
Daniel's family's plan for him is a tough one - he's GOT to get out of the house SOON - his parents are far too old for this. He has a modest savings that his parents plan to buy a (very modest) house for him.
The ideal thing is to set him up with enough to allow him to live in a house with someone regularly taking care of things, keeping him on his medication, and basically to keep him out of the half-way houses, poor farms, or retirement homes.
The lunge in attention that Daniel is getting in recent years is a direct result of MANY PEOPLE from different parts of the world participating in different ways to use the next ten to fifteen years to rescue Daniel from an ugly future. It will go a long way to keep him productive for as long as possible, and then allow him to live with some dignity in his old age. Provided he lives to be old!
The BENEFIT album that there is so much rumbling about - it is supposed to go into a trust fund to support Daniel in his old age, for example.
If ALL of these things REALLY come together for Daniel, in another FIVE to TEN years, there may be a course chartered FOR HIM to keep him "comfortable" for the rest of his life. That is the most we can ask for.
One other VERY important thing. Daniel is NOT materialistic. He doesn't care a twit about having fine clothes or good furniture or a big house. His studio is half of his parents garage. It is not heated or air conditioned, either. You've probably seen the pictures of his studio. He delights in simple and sometimes silly things - but not materialistic or pretentious stuff. He spends most of his waking hours out there drawing and song-writing.
His is just one of those creative-machine phenomenon - he compulsively is caught up in that and that is the greatest joy of life for him. None of the money matters. He gets "excited" about the idea of being rich, but it would only be to buy comic books and indulge friends. Not fast cars and women.
Well, that's enough rambling about that rumor!
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